


Multiversal Recruitment

by FictionWriterD



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Battle, Biopunk, Chinese, Combat, Demons, Dieselpunk, Elves, F/M, Fantasy, Fiction, Final Fantasy - Freeform, French, Harem, Horror, Japanese, Martial Arts, Multiple Genres, Ninja, Resident Evil - Freeform, Samurai, Science Fiction, astropunk, lovecraft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 52,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27931504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FictionWriterD/pseuds/FictionWriterD
Summary: On a war in a distant world, one side fights desperately for her own salvation. Exhausting all her options, the Goddess Celestia sees no other choice available to her but to send her soldiers out to recruit more warriors to fight her war. Going to the edges of reality, these new recruits will be her last hope to win--
Kudos: 1





	1. Celestia, the Ultima Ordinis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She is the goddess on a world long at war, willing to win at any cost...

Lux Aeterna, Shrine of the Goddess

Deep within the mountain on the southern continent was a shrine, and inside things were darker than the world outside. Over abundance of despair and lack of hope could be felt in the air. It filled the large indoor space where the walls of rock were carved into statues of a goddess worshiped for eons on this world. Another statue of the goddess was in the center of the room surrounded by a pillar of light, which was also the only light in the entire shrine still glowing. This statue showed of a beautiful woman with her hands together and looking to the sky. Six feather wings on her back gave her the image of an archangel and her beauty backed up that notion.

What looked like a throne made entirely of gold and adorned in white silk drapes sat in front of the statue. It had been empty for quite some time, as dust had begun to settle on the seat, yet it didn't harm its glean.

The room was empty, and not a sound was heard save for the rumbling of thunder outside the mountain.

Then the shrine became a beacon of activity.

One by one, bright flashes of light quickly came into the room, leaving behind tall armored beings that looked like medieval knights and armed with large swords in their place. These knights showed wear and tear of vicious battle with many of them unable to stand upright because of how damaged they were. They appeared to be on their last legs. Yet Viators, as they were called, were the backbone of the goddess' army. they felt no pain, mostly, and cared only about serving their deity. Her opponent the god of strife also deployed these creatures to serve him.

A lone soldier, missing its left arm and limping on one leg, approached the throne and knelt to one knee. He dropped the broken sword in his right hand, until now he had paid no mind to the pain he was feeling but now his defense had fallen and he struggled to not pass out.

"Praise the light..." he said with a gravel voice. His words were heavy and weak.

From the darkened room a single golden feather fell and landed on the seat of the throne. A moment later, in a flash of light, a woman appeared in its place. Dressed in a full length form fitting crystalline halter neck white dress and with pale long golden hair, the woman's resemblance to the statues around her was impeccable. Her skin was gold, her eyes a brighter gold as well. A crown of gold sat upon her head, but she was no queen. She was higher than that.

"You are harmed!" A gentle, feminine and yet garbled voice spoke from the woman's still lips.

The knight remained kneeling, and though his body was beginning to turn to dust, he struggled to speak. "Forces of the Primis Exitium have broken through the land bridge to the southern continent...His champions are leading the foray into our territory. We fought valiantly but they broke through..."

The knight's body began to dissolve, and before he vanished he gave his last words. "We failed you..."

Then he was gone, his body fully dissolved into dust that was carried into the air.

Though she had a still face, like a stone mask that hid her emotions, the woman was distraught.

"Lady Celestia, the Ultima Ordinis, we serve you until the end."

Those words came from the remaining knights that surrounded the throne, speaking in unison as she looked on. Though badly damaged, these mindless but devoted servants to their goddess remained by her side, despite the clear disadvantage they were in.

The knight whose life had just ended before her had been her last high ranking soldier. She now had no other leader besides herself to direct her forces. A task she felt unprepared for.

'Yet if the forces of Infernus have indeed broken into the south, then there is little standing in their way before they would reach here...'

Standing up from her throne she called out to her remaining troops. "Gather all those that remain and retreat as far south as possible! Defend the mountain as top priority!"

The soldiers stood and vanished without a word in a similar light into which they had arrived. Eventually the goddess found herself all alone in the room.

She knew that her fight with the god of the north was nearing its end, and she was on the losing side. The fire in her chest burned hotter at the idea of losing. She refused defeat.

She would win at any cost!

But the question is of how could she win with such rapidly dwindling forces? At this rate she would be unable to generate more Viator soldiers to fight for her before the enemy would be at her doorstep...

Then she remembered something her knight had said before he had perished.

'He said the god's champions were leading the soldiers...' she lowered her chin and thought for a moment. She had known of the summoning of champions from far off worlds to fight in the war, but not once had Celestia actually done the same for herself. She had always put faith in her Viators and they had always delivered.

Until now, after a string of defeats that led to this moment. where before the war she had pledged to fight for eternity was far from her shrine was now at her feet ready to kick down her door and slaughter her. She had put her faith in her soldiers and now they were failing her. Such faith had been misplaced, it seems.

Raising her head, the goddess looked to the darkened ceiling of her shrine. A view that showed no end in sight and maybe her eventual fate.

"No. I will prevail in this war. But not alone."

She looked out to the far door of the shrine, closed and locked up tight due to the impending attack. She knew she didn't have time to dawdle.

"Come forth, my Speculators."

In a similar way as the Viators had appeared before her earlier, three knights appeared. These knights were taller and their armor more intricately designed than those of the Viators, with long bull like horns atop their head. One was a white, another was black, and the last one was grey. All three were kneeling before their goddess in absolute submission.

"Lady Celestia...you have summoned us?" Said the middle Speculator, whose armor was white. A shade of white which the hue was brighter than gold. She was also the only one of the three that was female, judging by how slim and feminine in appearance her armor was compared to the other two.

The goddess lowered her head in shame, "Our forces have suffered setback after setback in the previous few battles. Now I have noticed that I have lost most of my senior officers. The war is in dire straits, and I fear we will not be able to win."

The grey Speculator got up from his kneeling position. His armor was a brighter shade of the color, looking more slate than ash. "Then we shall retreat from battle? Regroup our forces before striking back?"

The final knight, clad in black armor, also stood. He disagreed with that notion. "Nay, we will fight to the last!"

The black and grey knights turned to each other. Always on each other's cases, especially when planning for the battles ahead come into question. "What fool doesn't see that this is a losing battle, Nero? We must pull back and protect the goddess from Infernus' forces. She is our priority!"

"The fool here, Griseo, is you! While our priority is indeed the protection of our goddess, what good can come of our efforts if we do not continue the fight?"

"And what good is it if we lose right at the moment we are at our weakest?" Griseo remained stern in his approach to being cautious. It was usually a downside to him that bordered on cowardice. That was something the hard headed as well as battle hungry Nero could not stand.

Ultimately that left the white knight, Blanca, the one to step in the middle of the two. "Nero! Griseo! Enough!"

"Silence." This time the goddess herself stood up, her expression resolute. "I know what must be done, and what you three can do for me. I want to win this war, and will do so at any cost. Yet..." She gave a cold glance at her three personal knights. Having come to to terms that her options were limited, she knew a choice had to be made. "One way alone will not guarantee our survival, let alone victory."

The three knights returned to facing the goddess and knelt before her once again. They had been put back in their place and they became servants again. Ears were opened, and except for Blanca, words were silent. "What would you have us do, my lady?"

Celestia didn't waste any time giving orders. "Nero, you will lead our forces south to the second land bridge and seal it off, prevent the enemy from approaching as best you can." She turned her attention to Griseo and noted he didn't like that order. Nor would he like the one she gave the grey armored knight. "Griseo will send messengers to the northern forces, or what is left of them, and tell them to hold their positions to the last and not retreat."

As expected Griseo raised his head to protest, "But my lady-!"

Her silence and death like glare forced the knight into silence. Then the golden goddess looked at Blanca and gave her final order. "As for you, Blanca, I want you to pick out a company of our best Viators and ready them for a mission of great importance."

Blanca didn't raise her head, "For what kind of mission, my lady?"

A moment of trepidation came before she spoke in voice that struggled to stay strong. "I shall do what I have never done before: like our enemy Infernus, I shall summon warriors from far off lands to fight for us."

The air inside the mountain was drowned in silence and at first it seemed like the idea the goddess had given was somewhere between the most inspiring plan and the most absurd the knights had ever heard in their lives.

To the surprise of everyone, Nero was the one who spoke up first. "Are you sure, Lady Celestia? Summoning beings from other dimensions is a huge risk to the war."

Infernus had been summoning soldiers from distant worlds to fight in the war for the longest time. Beings with powers that were of unconventional but extremely powerful. The knights of Celestia fought these beings on a regular basis, and as time wore on the trinity of knights most loyal to the goddess had proven to be the only ones to survive. Still with the power the new arrivals could offer, it was also the biggest risk the goddess and her troops could ever hope to face. They had fought long without the need to summon anyone else, but now it seemed inevitable that they wouldn't win without outside help. Still, that same outside help was a risky gamble to make, as there was no guarantee that the summoned warriors would fight for the being who summoned them in the first place. They could fight among themselves or, heaven forbid, they would switch over to Infernus' side. How Infernus had persuaded his own warriors to fight for him for untold millennia was a mystery in and of itself.

Even Celestia knew this, but she also knew what would happen if she didn't step up in her war plans. "In these desperate times, I will once again reiterate that I will do whatever it takes to win this war, even count on warriors that do not understand the reason for which they fight."

Ever cautious Griseo asked point blank, "And if we bring them here how should we ask them to fight? I do not expect my lady to simply persuade people who are forced to fight in a war they have no hope to understand."

As true as this was, Celestia saw no other choice in the matter. The goddess looked down at Blanca. "The task of bringing the warriors to me I entrust to you, and you alone, Blanca. Send the Viators to any suitable world you can find, and bring the warriors to me."

The white knight kept her head down, but her response was poignant and loyal. "Thy will be done, Celestia."

The knights all stood up and went about their orders. Nero to the north to help the armies in the field, Griseo to help with the retreat, and Blanca went about picking the most suitable soldiers of what was left to assist with her daring mission.

That left the goddess Celestia alone. She sat down on her throne and though her expression remained still she felt the anxiety of her orders beginning to cloud her mind.

Her loyal knights would follow her to the end of time, but the warriors that she would end up meeting soon would ultimately decide whether she would win or possibly lose the war that she had long been fighting.

Surely, they would understand her plight...

The knights went about their orders, and Blanca followed her own with fervor as well as a bit of desperation. Telling the knights to go to other realms was a huge task even for the most devoted of servants. That was because it was a one way trip for the ones that left the world of the gods. The Viators who left the world of Celestia and Infernus would never be able to return. Yet they were so devoted to their duty that they didn't care about that. As long as Celestia lived they would die willingly for her.

As the Viators left one by one in flash of white light Blanca hoped that they would find the best warriors and saviors they could before it was too late.


	2. Demon Slayer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A demon slayer thinks he is in for a boring night in the city of Crystal Cove, yet he has no idea what he is in for when he is called to fight a mysterious creature from another realm. Little does he know the most amazing adventure of his life was about to begin...

Crystal Cove, Massachusetts

The night had been quiet for Dakk up until the radio on his motorbike ruined the silence. "Wonder what Sister wants now?"

He turned on the receiver on the dash of his bike. He decided to respond in his usual way. That typically meant like a joke. "This is Dakk Tribal speaking how may I direct your call?"

Normally his carefree sounding attitude would have made Sister Charlotte chuckle. Tonight was a bit different. She responded with a more stern tone. "Dakk, I know you've been hard at work tonight, but we just received reports that something is causing trouble in the theater district."

"Huh. Well it is Friday night guess the demon wanted to go to the movies," Dakk joked. Though his outward appearance made it look like he took it as a joke, in his head the gears were already turning as to what he was going to do next. His training as a demon slayer was kicking in, despite how physically exhausted he secretly felt.

He turned the key in the bike's ignition on and it roared to life. He was on Sanctuary Hill outside the metropolis of Crystal Cove. It'd take him a couple minutes to get to the downtown area. Until then he had to go through protocol with his superior officer.

"So any idea as to what I am dealing with?"

Charlotte spoke, her voice now speaking to Dakk via his communications piece in his right ear. "Calls came in of something destroying cars near the Wayne Theater. Police on the scene described the creature as tall with white armor and aggressive to them when they opened fire on it."

Dakk rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, you think they would steer clear of something like that instead of going Dirty Harry on it," replied the Slayer as he reached the city limits, going at a high rate of speed and swerving through traffic with little to no difficulty. "Any slayers on the scene?"

"Once the call went through Zeig and Serenity responded immediately."

'Serenity responded?' He didn't like that idea. Serenity Christopher was a childhood friend of his and a rookie slayer. Rookie as in greener than grass. "Serenity isn't ready for that level of danger yet!"

"She insisted, Dakk, and she has to be able to handle situations without you-"

He didn't want to hear her explanation. "To hell with that." Dakk revved the bike up and it rose in speed. Now it'd be a matter of minutes before he'd get to his destination.

It wasn't hard to find the epicenter of the chaos, what with all the burning police cars and damaged buildings. Then there was the creature standing in the middle of the cross section, looking like it was waiting for something. Civilians had long since fled the area, fearing for their own safety.

Then there was the two slayers that had responded to the monster's rampage. A girl with long red hair and wearing the Order of Magdalene's slayer uniform. That consisted of a purple vest over a white blouse and a short black free flow skirt. The outfit was not proper in terms of meetings but its usefulness in combat helped Serenity in her maneuverability. She was also holding a rose pink short bow in her hands. She stood with shaking legs as the monster stared right at her with its orange amber eyes glaring holes right at her.

"That thing creeps me out..." said Serenity. Not even twenty yet as well as fresh out of training camp, she had hardly any experience in the field.

Luckily she wasn't alone tonight. Standing near her was a man in a dark blue overcoat adorned with the Order of St. Lucia's emblem on the back. The man had short silver hair and a black visor covering his eyes. Strapped to his back was a spear with a triangular shaped head on it.

"Zeig, any idea what this thing is?" asked the curious female slayer.

The veteran slayer shook his head and swung the spear from his back. He held it in his hands ready to attack. "Not a clue, Ms. Christopher. Not a typical demon, if it is one."

"If it is one? What else could it be?"

"Let's find out. Provide cover fire." Less than a second later Zeig took off in a charge at the being. The spear he carried, while it looked heavy, was light as a feather in his hands. Spinning it around with amazing skill he tried a series of jabs and slashes at the monster.

The result surprised even Zeig.

The monster actually either dodged or outright blocked each and everyone of his attacks with its forearms, in the case of the latter sparks flew from the contact. The being eventually took hold of the spear before pulling its free hand back with the intent of driving its fist into Zeig's unprotected face.

That is before it used the same fist to grab a streak of light that came at its face. The light was in the shape of an arrow, made entirely of astral holy energy that vanished in its hand. The creature turned its head to see that Serenity had her bow raised and another arrow ready to fire. Archers of the Order of Magdalene, as well as those around the world, could use what was called Astral energy (the power of God himself) and weaponize it to protect humans from demons. It was something that only slayers could achieve, and after months if not years of arduous training.

Serenity fired another arrow, aiming for the same area the last one had gone. The creature moved an inch forward to avoid the arrow but it had been distracted long enough for Zeig to swing his spear and hit it in the face with the lighter end. Taken by surprise the creature stumbled back and Zeig spun again and drove the sharpened end into the creature's stomach.

It didn't even flinch.

Serenity couldn't allow her shock at the fact that the monster was still standing despite taking what should have been a mortal blow. She fired another arrow. Then another, and a barrage of quick fire as fast as she could move her arms until the barrage was hard for it to avoid.

Zeig had to leap back to avoid the arrows and despite being stuck like a pin cushion with the arrows the monster wasn't slowing down. It forced Zeig away with a series of quick jabs before-literally-picking up an idle police cruiser and threw it at the bow wielding slayer like a baseball.

Maybe it was her inexperience, or just pure shock at the monster's strength and durability, that Serenity found herself unable to move. Either way she was doomed-

-until a familiar face came between her and the car. Swinging his sword upward Dakk sent a wave of white astral energy out that collided with the vehicle. The force of the wave caused it to fly harmlessly over the two slayers and crash through the front window of a clothing store. He wasn't finished as with the momentum he carried with his first swing he brought his sword back down in another slash. The astral wave that came from the sword was even bigger than the last, big enough to where Zeig had to leap farther back to avoid being hit. Like a miniature tsunami the wave washed everything in its path away, forcing cars flying into buildings or exploding on the spot. The creature stood its ground even as the wave collided with it. It wasn't there when the wave dissipated down the street.

Dakk turned to Serenity who had fallen to her knees. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah...thanks." Everything had happened so fast she had trouble processing it all. "That thing is no demon Dakk."

The young man agreed. 'Otherwise the higher ups wouldn't have called me in.'

Zeig approached the two, spear in hand but remaining as stoic as usual. "Nice timing Tribal. Any later and Serenity would be road kill."

"Traffic was a pain," Dakk retorted to the veteran slayer, but gave Serenity a more apologetic look. His positive side came back to the surface and he smiled. "So, what are we dealing with here-"

As if right on cue, down the street the monster got back to its feet and walked out of the fire. But a surprising development came out of this as the monster stumbled out of the flames, some of it covered its now heavily damaged upper body. It didn't bleed from the deep gashes left behind by Dakk's attack.

"Still standing huh," Dakk said, not at all surprised.

"Thing seemed imperious to normal attacks," Zeig added, remembering how it held him off earlier. "But from what I can see I don't think its a demon but neither is it human. In fact I don't even think its a living creature."

"A machine then?"

Zeig kept further analysis to himself for the time being. The monster certainly acted like a machine with its stiff movements and single minded state to fight. So he'd believe that until proven other wise.

Same couldn't be said for Dakk. Holding his slayer sword in his right hand, its handle and hilt modeled after angel wings, he was ready for a fight. "Think I'll go and see what we're dealing with. Think you guys can back me up?"

"You have to ask? Even if you said no we'd still help you," said Serenity, raising her bow, arrow at the ready. She had gotten over her inaction earlier and was now determined to fight back.

Zeig offered no words, but instead got into a battle ready stance with his spear.

Dakk smiled, 'That's friendship for you.' Though they all had known each other for years, since childhood for Serenity and Dakk, they were all more than just comrades in the common goal of protecting God's children. They were close friends, they watched over each other. That's what they were supposed to do, right? "All right. Serenity, keep firing those arrows, keep him on his toes. Zeig, let's teach this thing not to mess with the Magdalene Order."

Zeig spoke the only words he knew to say. "God's will, thy will be done."

"Amen to that," said Dakk with a smile and raising his sword.

The monster before the trio took note of the slayers, but it's sight was already set on Dakk. Though the man didn't know it, the monster was dead set on retrieving him to complete its mysterious mission.

TO BE CONTINUED IN: DISTANT WORLD WAR


	3. Vampire Knight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for more soldiers continues to a world where the night rules in secret.   
> A Viator is sent to attack the Princess of Germany, and her lone protector jumps in to defend her. Little does he know but it isn't the girl it is after...

Berlin, Germany

The intersection was a mess. Cars piled up in the four directions as civilians frantically fled the scene. Some of the cars were burning. The mysterious figure stood in the center of the intersection, the exact spot where it had happened to teleport in and scanned the area.

It didn't even scan a section of the area before it was sent flying by a fast moving object, sending it flying through a pile of cars and into a commercial bus. It was forced to meet bumper to bumper as a result of the force behind the blow.

That same object moved quickly to what remained of a fancy transport car and tore the door right off the hinges.

Inside was a dark haired young woman in a fancy white dress, looking rattled as she tried to gather herself from the sudden chaos. "Oh...what just happened-"

"I'll get you to safety, Princess." Standing before her, the tall young man in a dark grey trench coat carefully helped her out of the wreckage. She was unable to hold her footing, still rattled, and so she fell against his chest. "Sera, can you hear me?"

"Viktor...what the hell just happened?"

The man meant to protect her, Viktor was unsure of the events that had just gone down. One moment he and the princess were casually talking in the back of her car and suddenly all hell broke loose. He had been launched from the car on the impact, but due to his pure blood vampire physiology he was unscathed. The same could not be said for Sera as she had a nasty cut on her forehead. Though as a dhampir she bled far easier than normal vampires, her wounds would still heal, though it take a few hours to do so.

Picking Sera up in his arms Viktor jumped from the ground with ease and landed on a nearby rooftop. He set the semi-conscious princess down and made sure there were no further injuries. He felt a great sense of relief come across his stoic features when he found none.

For her part Sera proved her toughness in this situation. "I took a hit but I'll be alright, Viktor."

Nodding once, not to mention keeping his composure, Viktor stood up straight and started to walk back in the direction of the conflict.

The princess tried to stand up but struggled to move her limbs. The crash had rattled her far more than she thought. "Where are you going?"

Her knight stopped. "To get answers."

Viktor's crimson red eyes grew bright as the power of the Night itself flowed through his body, changing him both inside and out. In the case of outside crude obsidian black armor formed over his left arm and chest over his trench coat. The back of his left wrist had a diamond shaped red gem that was glowing through the dark. The gem flashed slowly as what could only be described as a mist of red came from it and through the power of the Night, a sword formed in the knight's right hand. The blade was red and black as well as long. The handle had the appearance of a dragon's head and the hilt was shaped like those of a bat. Fitting for a vampire knight.

Without turning the knight spoke confidently, "I'll be back. I promise."

Using the the edge of the building for momentum Viktor lunged forward back towards the scene. He heard Sera tell him to be careful before he did so.

The monster was only just getting back to its feet when Viktor landed in the center of the intersection. It had only suffered minimal damage from earlier, and it was ready for more.

So was Viktor, though his intentions were more precise than the simple instructions programmed into the Sender.

"Now...I'm going to ask nicely, and you better give me a good answer. Who are you and why did you attack the princess?"

It stood straight, analyzing the situation but it only took a nanosecond for it to come up with a proper response. It charged at the knight, intent on testing this new power it sensed from him.

With the power of the Night flowing through his being Viktor moved at supernatural speed, hitting the machine in mid stride from the side and sending it flying down the street. It crashed through many unoccupied cars and even a fire engine that had long since been abandoned. Before it could recover Viktor was on top of it, the claws of his armored hand squeezing tightly around the machine's throat. He not only held on tightly but he also pushed against it, further crushing it against the fire engine.

He threatened the machine, barring his fangs, "You want breath, I want answers. Now, talk!"

What should have been impossible became possible as the monster not only pushed back he literally shoved Viktor away with both hands. The amount of power used to do so momentarily surprised the knight. But something else had gotten his attention.

'This thing...didn't have a pulse. I don't even think its alive...'

How was that possible?

A machine? The thought had crossed his mind in how it was being tossed around like a rag doll but surely such a thing was impossible in the world-whether it be human or vampire.

The monster flew at the knight once again but faster this time so Viktor was unable to catch it mid-air. It threw a tightly clenched fist at his face, but Viktor still had the where with all to catch it in his left hand. The collision sent a shock wave through the air that sent a cloud of dust and debris into the air.

Yet, even as he held the fist in his shaking hand, Viktor remained unconcerned. "I see you'd rather fight back. Very well, then I won't show mercy."

With great ease Viktor tightened his grip on the Sender's fist before he tossed the machine over his shoulder and slammed it into the ground. The impact sent mounds of dirt and debris into the air. It went even higher as Viktor tossed it back over his shoulder again before throwing it high into the air. The Sender was a rag doll before him, helpless as Viktor met him many stories into the air before he drove it back down with a heavy handed blow. The force of the Sender being driven into the ground threw concrete and even vehicles into the air.

Viktor didn't wait to see if it would get back up as he came back down and landed on the machine with the force of a small bomb, making the impact crater even deeper. Not only that but he also drove the blade of his sword through its chest. It was pinned to the ground yet didn't try to struggle as Viktor stood up.

He was certain that would be a death blow and so he scoped out whether this was the case.

"SUBJECT DISCOVERED. PREPARING TELEPORTATION-"

The mechanical voice were the first words Viktor had heard from this machine, and they were quite unusual.

Because they were so strange was most likely the reason he had taken so long to react. Had he moved a second or two earlier, the eventual teleportation wouldn't have caught him.

A white flash of light from within the machine blinded him momentarily.

And the only thought that ran through the knight's mind was that of the well being of his princess.

TO BE CONTINUED IN DISTANT WORLD WAR


	4. Infected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On an earth where an extraterrestrial virus has turned the majority of humanity into flesh hungry mutants, Xander Kane views personal survival as his top priority. That and the fact that he isn't exactly human himself. As he self torments, a mysterious creature unlike any mutant he has seen before comes looking for a fight, not knowing that his own survival will play second fiddle to the greater plot that lies ahead...

Sunnyvale, Georgia

1998

The south eastern United States had been one of the first epicenters of the virus, and Sunnyvale was the worst of it. The press called the infected 'zombies', and they were right in most ways. Mindless shuffling corpses of what used to be regular people. A friendly neighbor, a loving spouse, carefree children. Now they were all ravenous beings who devoured all forms of meat, human and animal.

This world had gone to hell, and the fact that there were zombies and mutant monstrosities roaming the streets was proof of it. That's because just a short while ago a meteorite shattered in the earth's atmosphere and though it was thought harmless at first, the proceeding days proved that assumption fatally wrong.

An extraterrestrial virus had caught wind in the earth and with it humanity's downfall.

Civilization came to abrupt end. Heroes fought and fell to the virus, and millions upon millions became infected. Both flora and fauna became monsters seeking the need to kill and devour. As humans tried to survive as best they could, hope was in short supply.

Still some held onto hope, while others just did what they could to survive.

That was Xander Kane in a nutshell, among other things, as he stood among a pile of recently dead infected. His body had blood oozing down his left side and his right arm was shaking. The yellow hazmat labeled jacket was slick with crimson liquid and his jeans were torn at the knees. Though he was shaking it wasn't out of fear. The adrenaline he felt was coursing through his veins and he knew a truth.

He was enjoying himself.

He peered back over his shoulder, "You still kicking?"

He was speaking to the blond haired woman kneeling next to the corpse of a dead child. Her expression was sad, but her features remained soft. Though she had learned English to a great degree her voice had a faint French accent to it. "I wish it would have ended better for this one..." She wiped a tear from her eye.

Xander turned completely to her, "Quit crying over every dead kid we come across, Odette. Tears won't bring them back."

Standing up the woman's face hardened with a touch of fury as she stared at Xander. "How can you be so callous?"

"When it comes to survival, your first priority should be number one on the list. Anyone else has to look out for themselves," answered Xander, not caring how he sounded to her.

The woman straightened out her clothes, which consisted of a blue track jacket that was three sizes too big for her. The reason for that was a secret she didn't share with anyone and only Xander knew about it. It covered her from the base of her neck to just halfway down her thighs. Though the ground around her was rocky with various debris and broken glass, she remained barefoot. Again, for good reason.

She made her way to Xander, obviously furious over what he had said earlier, though she had heard it many times in the last few days. She stopped right in front of him and though she wasn't wearing shoes she was almost as tall as he was. "You say that and yet you still let me follow you. Doesn't that break your philosophy?"

Xander wasn't backing down, "True, but unlike others you're useful to me, and until you aren't any longer you're sticking with me."

Odette gasped, "You're a cruel man, Xander Kane."

The man ran his left hand through his short sandy brown hair. Though on the outside he didn't appear to be bothered by what people thought of him the truth was he himself didn't like sounding so heartless. Still, he kept his conflicting sentiments to himself and turned back to the road ahead of him. "There's a mall down the road."

A car nearby blew up, most likely from a mutant plant sprouting in the street. An orange mist began to form in the area.

That was the cue to move on, and both of them knew it.

"We better get movin', the infected will be here shortly," said Xander and he took off running in the opposite direction of the encroaching cloud.

Odette, after taking a sad glance back at the child's corpse, went on after her companion.

The business district of Sunnyvale was a sad sight for Odette. She had only lived in the city for a span of six months and while it wasn't anything like her hometown of Nice in France she appreciated the place and thought of it as her second home.

Now it was a dilapidated war zone, a passenger seat for the Apocalypse that she had unknowingly rode with everyone else on.

Xander led the way, keeping clear of open ground where the infected would be able to find them and stuck mainly to the shadows. That was the only thing they really could do, because drawing the attention of the infected was not something either of them wanted.

That idea didn't last long.

As they came up to an intersection where a commercial bus was overturned, screaming could be heard coming from the inside. A few survivors had huddled up inside the last time Xander checked.

'Guess the infected found them out. Poor bastards. Should have kept moving.'

As he started to move he glanced back at just a moment and saw that, predictably, Odette stood stone still in place. No doubt the death wails of the living had frozen her feet to the ground.

Too bad Xander had no empathy for her. "Come on." He grabbed her arm and pulled her along with him.

Then a loud growl echoed through the air, breaking the silence of Sunnyvale like a pane of brittle glass. Loud, angry, and filled with an urge to kill.

Xander stopped, noticing something was off.

The growl sounded familiar at first but as it lingered in his ears he noticed it had a more mechanical sound to it.

As if to answer his uncertainty, the bud before them was cut completely in half and pushed open. Blood, gore, and dismembered limbs of both dead humans and infected ones spilled out from the bus like a candy filled pinata.

And out from the center walked what Xander could only describe as a walking statue. Nine feet tall at least and with a robust build. Though it appeared human, the yellow eyes on its face were emotionless. Red stains of what could only be blood stained its right side.

"I think we found what killed those monsters..." said Xander before taking a step back.

"Mon Dieu, what is it?" asked the French woman.

The thing, whatever it was, seemed to eye both of them with curiosity at first. Then it changed abruptly as they narrowed, like it was angry, and that anger was aimed at the two in front of it.

"Fuck if I know, but it sure doesn't act like an infected, if it means to come at us-"

Like a bolt of lightning strange creature shoulder tackled Xander in the chest, sending him flying down the street.

"Xander!" cried Odette before turning in time to see the monster's large fist grab her by the shoulder and effortlessly left her off the ground.

She struggled in vain as the tight grip on her threatened to break her bones. "Let me go!"

The panic in her voice echoed in the air but the creature didn't seem to care. It spoke in a plain mechanical voice, "SCANNING FOR POTENTIAL CANDIDATES..." A bright green light came from its eyes and scanned the squirming woman it held in its grip. "...BIOLOGY IS INCONSISTENT OF TYPICAL HUMAN SPECIMEN."

'Does this thing know I am infected?' Seeing an opening Odette reacted in the only way she could think of. Tightly closing her eyes, as well as regretting what she was about to do, she sighed as she unzipped the track suit she wore before she stopped moving and began to concentrate.

The machine took notice of something in the air, something that could not be seen by the naked eye. A pheromone was coming off of Odette's skin like a cloud and came down on the machine, and it instantly noticed. Not that it wouldn't have eventually as the pheromone was causing two effects. The first was a pleasant smell meant to warm the blood of any living creature (though the infected, who were usually dead and cold, never noticed it), the machine creature apparently wasn't affected. At least not to the first one. The second was more expressive, not to mention dangerous, as the pheromone reacted in accordance to the panic in Odette's body and turned acidic to the monster's skin. It began to melt and sizzle with steam coming off it.

The sudden feeling of pain caused the creature to react by dropping Odette and grabbing the wrist which was now exposed to reveal a crystallized exoskeleton underneath.

As soon as she fell to the ground Odette wasted no time in trying to get away, running nearby and hiding behind an overturned SWAT truck. She tried to calm herself at how close to death she thought she had come before tossing her torn and useless jacket to the side. Her voluptuous body was now exposed and her secret was as well. Parts of her body, especially around her hips and chest as well as her jawline, were covered in thick blood orange scales that was like armor. The scales covered between her legs and minimal area of her breasts, but otherwise she was pretty much naked and that she hated above all else.

But that was the least of her worries right now.

'I need to get away from this thing but-'

Having recovered from the attack from earlier, Xander scrambled from the debris nearby and got next to her. He appeared fine despite having taken a tackle from the monster. Had he not been infected he more than likely would have been crushed like a bug.

"Xander!"

His jacket was torn on the left shoulder but otherwise he was okay. He saw Odette had changed to her infected form, which surprised him a little. He knew she hated changing, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "Is it stunned?"

"I think so..." she covered her near naked chest by wrapping her arms around herself. Her conscious need to shield her dignity, especially from someone like Xander, momentarily overshadowed the fact that she was in a life or death situation. "But most likely not for long."

Xander didn't have time to take notice. "It hits like a truck. I'm surprised you got away."

Looking at his right hand, Xander knew what he was more than likely going to have to do. He just wasn't looking forward to the pain. "We'll have to fight that thing."

"How do we fight something like that?"

"I will fight it while you make a run for it," Xander corrected her, for some reason avoiding to speak to her face to face.

Odette's eyes widened, "You cant be serious. you really think you can take that thing on alone?"

"Trust me I'd rather fight it alone than have to worry about someone else," he answered her. "Especially if that someone is you. You'd just get in the way."

Feeling downright insulted Odette roughly placed her left hand on his shoulder. "you are a fool. I can help." Though she loathed fighting, as well as being infected, she couldn't think of letting him fight that monster on his own. "Don't be a-"

Without warning Xander turned and with surprising force pressed Odette against the truck. Before she could react to that however, she felt his left hand grab her chest in a tight grip. He had big hands, but the amount of flesh he held was bigger. Odette cried out and grabbed his wrist with both hands to try and pry him off but he held on tenaciously. Her pleas were a mixed sensation of pleasure and pain. "Xander, please stop..."

The man tried his damnedest to avoid looking her in the eye, ashamed as he was by what was going on, but he couldn't. He brought his face within inches of hers, his hot breath washing over her sweat drenched skin. "Damn you and those pheromones of yours..."

Odette's pheromones, which were useless against most infected and were poisonous to certain threats, turned out to have a very different affect on Xander as she had found out recently. Turns out they acted as an aphrodisiac to Xander's infected DNA as well as overstimulated Odette's. To be put bluntly it made the two want to mate like rabbits. That last part had been avoided entirely so far, but not without pushing their self-control to the breaking point multiple times. As Odette had little control over her infected abilities she never knew when Xander would be affected by them, leading to many sleepless nights and constant overwhelming fear.

Odette's face was flushed red and she looked up to avoid Xander's lust filled eyes-

-she gasped as she saw the monster standing on the truck peering down at the two. She managed to swallow the feeling she was fighting against to cry out. "Xander!"

It quickly bent down and reached for Odette once again but Xander was ready for it this time. He pulled Odette away forcefully, causing her to fall to the ground behind him, while he drove his right hand towards the monster. The infection inside Xander reacted to the threat immediately, transforming his right arm into a mass of red-orange tendrils and, most prominently, morphing his hand into a long bone like protrusion that resembled a blade. The quick transformation felt like he got a thousand needles stuck in his arm all at once and he mashed his teeth together to avoid screaming in agony. He shoved the blade up into the monster, missing the head but getting the shoulder of the extended arm. Adrenaline from the change still flowing Xander mustered all his strength and tossed the monster behind him. Sparks flew from the creature as it rolled across the pavement. It eventually came to a stop and stood up, a sizable gash in its right shoulder.

Xander hissed as his arm, proof of his status as an infected twitched in constant pain. He soon grew two new protrusions, one coming out of his elbow and the other forming out of his shoulder like spikes, and he looked down at Odette. She had both arms over her chest and she peered up at him with a mix of emotions.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, his sincerity the best it had been in a long while.

Still red in the face Odette looked away in shame. She couldn't really blame him for what he had down to her, as he had proven more than once it was beyond his control. Still, his grip on her would not vanish from her mind and would haunt her for hours after. "It's fine..."

He turned back to the monster, but he still spoke to Odette. "You head somewhere else. I'll handle this fucker."

Getting back on her feet, which were now made up in high heel boots that covered her ankles and made of the infected armor elsewhere on her skin, Odette didn't have to tell him to be careful. Her constant show of compassion to Xander despite how he felt about it was a constant reminder and thus words weren't needed.

She ran back around the SWAT truck and out of danger.

Raising his right hand to glance at the sharpened blade that now made up his entire arm, Xander felt a spark of enthusiasm go through his being. "Nice to kill something other than a zombie or mutant..."

The being stood still, its eyes scanning Xander like it had done to Odette earlier. "ANALYSIS COMPLETE. SUBJECT APPROPRIATE FOR ARENA COMBAT. AWAITING INSTRUCTIONS..."

Xander raised an eyebrow, "The fuck are you talking about?"

A moment later he got his answer, "ORDERS RECEIVED: RETRIEVE SUBJECT FOR BATTLE WORLD. COMMENCING ACQUISITION OF TARGET."

The machine quickly launched itself at Xander, who readied his blade arm for a fight, but what he got instead was a sudden flash of bright white light.

When the light cleared, both the infected man and the machine had vanished to God knows where.

TO BE CONTINUED IN DISTANT WORLD WAR


	5. Pirate Captain

The Caribbean

1715

Two wooden ships were caught in a crossfire. It was the pirate frigate known as the Black Hawk, its sails burning during an intense fight with its adversary. Another pirate ship, virtually untouched, was floating nearby. The Weeping Widow had taken the Black Hawk by surprise, having waited until the Hawk had finished pillaging a nearby port before making its move to punish it.

The crew of the Widow fired cannons and muskets at the Hawk while the crew of their ship, having already lost their captain and will to fight back, took the barrage of lead without so much as a shot fired back.

An old man in a run stained white tunic and a thick Irish accent stood along the rail between two cannons that were in the process of reloading. "Come on, lads, show those fools not ta mess with the captain!"

A hearty cheer from the men on deck before they let out another broadside into the flaming mass of burning wood and cloth. The Widow shook with the eighteen gun volley and the sound could be heard for miles, even onto the nearby island. Seamus saw the splash of water and another explosion from within the enemy ship. Being a former first mate in the British Navy he knew his way around a fight on water, and he knew by now that the Hawk was nothing more than a wasted hulk of wood and men.

The old man turned towards the helm above him and made his way up the stairs. "Captain, the Black Hawk is finished, sir. The men await further orders."

Standing next to the helm, a young man, half the age of the older sailor, had one hand on the helm and had his eyes out to the water. Dressed in a light blue captain's coat adorned with gold tassels over a white shirt. He was prim and proper, like he was dressed more like he was going to a banquet than a battle to the death. His hair, sandy brown and long was tied in a tail that trailed down his back. A pencil mustache and goatee went around his mouth, and blue eyes finished.

Captain Louis DeChant turned to his first mate. "Then weigh anchor and pull back the guns. We need to be back out to sea before the port authorities arrive."

Seamus had expected that answer but had wanted to hear it from the young man's mouth first. He had respect for Louis not just because he was the captain but because he had known the boy's father. Both he respected greatly. Yet even as Seamus called out to the deck men to do as the captain ordered there was one issue he had to address. One that could be potentially grim. "And what of the men in the water, sir?"

Louis walked to the edge of the ship. He placed his right hand on the wood railing while his left tapped the handle of the sword on his hip. There were men swimming in the water, survivors of the destruction of the Black Hawk, crying out for help and trying to find anything they could to prevent them from drowning.

Louis quickly came to a conclusion. "We either take them aboard and turn them over to the authorities, or we leave them to be taken by the sea. Either way, it leads to death." He took a calm breath and lightly smiled. "Drop the jolly boat for them."

"Sir?"

The jolly boat was one of four small row boats that were on the Widow.

While Seamus was slightly puzzled, Louis had reason for his order. "A bit of mercy, unlike how they showed to the townsfolk."

The older man nodded and made the call for the boat to be dropped.

Louis nodded before turning back to the water. The ship made good time and was sailing back out to the open water, soon leaving the remains of the Black Hawk behind and soon the island they had just left would be a mere speck on the horizon.

The guns were put away and the men started to gather on the deck. Louis addressed them from the helm. "Good work today, men. We sacked a ship and lost none of our number. I say we get as far out to see as possible and we celebrate a successful venture. What say you?"

Another round of enthusiastic cheers from the men, most showing signs of weariness and age, gave the captain the answer he wanted.

"Sir!"

That call came from the crow's next high above the deck. A lone man was up there by the name of Blind Eye Jacob. Though only able to see in one eye and nearly deaf, the man's eye was keen and could see for miles. He had served with Louis' father and was a veteran of many adventures on the high seas.

"Aye, what is it, Jacob?" Seamus called out to the man above.

"By the Lord above me, there is something heading this way, sir! Off to the east!"

Curiosity got the best of everyone and they all went to the railing, gossip prevailed among them.

Seamus and Louis looked out to the sea and saw a geyser of water off to the distance, getting steadily larger as it got closer to the ship.

"What in the name of God is that, Seamus?" asked the Captain.

The older man, with over thirty years of sea adventuring under his belt and thought to have seen everything, was speechless.

Louis wasn't silent though. "Prepare a broadside! Whatever the hell that is I want it nowhere near the Widow!"

The crew scrambled to their stations, both above and below decks, and within seconds of his order the cannons were ready to fire.

"Fire!"

Like with the Black Hawk the Widow trembled under the barrage. Water shot out of the air from missed cannon shot and though the guns came close they all missed the fast moving target.

Louis remained still at the railing. He wasn't held in place by fear or trepidation but because he could slightly make out a metallic figure approaching from the spray of water heading towards his ship. A man shaped figure running across the surface of the water, which he knew was impossible. Yet in his life he had seen many things thought to be impossible, and so he had given up ever being surprised again.

Now he was proven wrong.

"Small arms and cutlasses ready! This thing means to board us!" He knew by how close the thing was the cannons were useless. So, the men drew out pistols and muskets as well as any small weapons they had on hand. Many of them were beginning to show signs of fear, evident by their shaking in their boots while holding their weapons. Wanting to prevent a panic and to rally his men, Louis drew his sword from the scabbard. The blade was silver and thick unlike the thin bladed cutlass his men were armed with. A blue gem was attached to the end of the handle. "Stand firm men! I shall join you. Let us be brave in the face of the unknown!"

As soon as he finished his sentence, the thing from the water lept up in a sprout of water trailing behind it. It landed on the deck, shaking it and causing a couple men to fall on their backs. Most scurried back to get some distance.

Only Louis remained firm in his feet.

Of course that was hard enough to do as he finally got a good look at the monster that had dared to climb aboard his father's ship. A tall slender but muscled man clad in silver metal and yellow eyes, looking like a monster out of Greek mythology but real as the sky and the sea itself.

Louis wasn't afraid, he couldn't show fear other wise it would lead to dissent. He took one step forward, but then all hell broke loose.

Without ever giving the order his men fired their guns in a panic. There was no aim behind the volley and as a result they either wildly missed or worse hit some of the men.

The metal man got hit by a few of the shots by chance, but the metallic pinging and sparks flying off its body showed that the lead was merely bouncing off its tough exterior.

Then it moved. The men nearest to it tried to get out of the way but it was faster than them by a long shot. It attacked them with closed fists, sending some flying out over the edge into the sea while others went through the air like toys thrown by a child. Some were brave enough to use their swords but much like the gunfire before the blades bounced off.

Louis once again stepped forward, intending to get into the fight but was stopped by Seamus, "Captain you mustn't!"

The young captain wasn't having any of it, "It's killing my men, dammit! I will not stand by!"

He got free of his first mate's grip and with skill and precision swing his sword in a downward slash that caught the giant in the back. Though it didn't do any better than anything before it in terms of cutting into the flesh, it did leave an obvious scratch mark along its spine.

The creature turned around slowly, its face stoic and still as a statue until it laid eyes on the pirate captain. Then the yellow eyes turned a scary red and it hunched over slightly, raising its arms in an offensive stance.

"TARGET ACQUIRED."

That mysterious voice came from the creature, though it didn't have a mouth, and it sounded otherworldly. It made a small tingle of fear go up Louis' spine.

Still, he stood firm. "Get the hell off my ship."

Instead he was given a fist that he was barely able to dodge it by maneuvering to the side. While moving Louis slashed the monster's side, though knowing it did little to nothing he wasn't going to be defensive the whole time.

Too bad he wasn't fast enough to avoid the next attack. The monster spun and grabbed the captain by the left shoulder. It effortlessly picked him up off the ground and held him high over its head.

Between the shots fired by his crew and Seamus' shouting as he feared for his captain's life the blue gem on Louis' sword began to glow. Even the captain as he lost the breath in his lungs felt the surge of the ocean flow from beyond his ship. The power of Poseidon flowed through the sword and water shot up like clay and forced both the monster and the pirate from the deck and into the deep blue.

But as final as that would have been, the machine managed to do its duty, and both it and the captain disappeared just after hitting the water.


	6. Hunter

Amazon Rain forest

Deep within the jungle, where dangerous predators lie in wait, was a strange structure. A tree house nestled safely within a nexus of thick tree limbs and hidden by large green foliage. Birds flew overhead and while the sun was mostly blacked by the canopy, Nalu was still uncomfortable in the humidity. The young woman was trying to concentrate on writing in her journal but after having to wipe the sweat from her face to stop it from falling on her paper enough times she closed her book.

"Screw this..." she conceded and put her book in her rucksack. It wasn't even noon according to her high tech wrist watch and yet the heat and humidity were almost unbearable. Still after spending enough time trapped in this jungle she had yet to learn to live with it.

'Least I am dressed for the weather...' she thought, grateful that she had packed khaki short shorts and tank tops before she had been abandoned on this planet.

Branches snapped on the floor of the tree house and she gasped. The ground shook as something landed in the clearing a short distance from her. When she went to take a look and saw a man in white, wearing a ferocious looking mask, and had a cluster of fruit draped back over his shoulder.

Nalu's heart slowed in relief. "Scar, you scared me!"

The man peered up at her, acknowledging her presence before walking into the tree house proper. He tossed the fruit onto a large wooden table, and set down a slim metal spear next to it. He turned to see Nalu react to the fruit, a labor that had taken him most of the morning to bring together.

For the first time all day Nalu found something to be excited about. "Yum! Thanks, Scar, this ought to do fine for breakfast."

Scar raised his left hand, which was covered in a fur gauntlet with claws over his fingers and pushed the mask he wore up to uncover his face. Despite his garb being strange for a hunter, consisting of white pants and a white long sleeved shirt, the face underneath his mask showed a rugged appearance. He didn't appear to be older than mid twenties, with short black shaggy hair and golden yellow eyes with cat-like irises. Yet the most telling part of Scar was the large wound on his throat where his vocal cords had been ripped out, as well as the only sign of his inability to speak.

Nalu got around this hurdle without issue though. "So, you want to eat first or do you have to go back out?"

Scar crossed his arms over his chest and threw his head slightly back in the direction of the jungle. That was his answer.

"Oh, well then I can wait until you get back. No biggie." She had the personality to not let one thing get her down. Not even twenty and an award winning journalist on her home planet of Terra, she had a peppy personality that won her many friends and few enemies. It was that reason alone that Scar seemed to enjoy her company.

The hunter turned back towards the jungle and grabbed the metal spear off the table as he went past it.

He stopped when he heard Nalu humming to herself, gathering up some of her belongings and putting them in her backpack. He grunted disapprovingly.

She didn't like that. "What? I'm coming too."

Scar motioned for her to stay in the tree house. Though he wasn't good with speaking, sign language was the only way the hunter knew how to communicate with others. Thankfully the girl's knowledge of it was substantial enough that a complete conversation could be made between the two.

Though his word was usually final, there were times Nalu's hardheadedness snuck through and she tried to plead her case. "C'mon, Scar, I need to get out of here for a couple hours at least. I've been tired of being stuck in the tree house. Please?"

Once again Scar shook his head in denial of her request. He put a hand to his ear to listen to the jungle. He stayed this way until Nalu went and listened.

It was then for the first time that morning that Nalu heard the strangest sound the jungle ever gave.

Silence. No birds chirping, no animal calls, even the sound of insects buzzing about was silent. Extremely unusual, not to mention unsettling, even for this place.

Nalu's shoulders slumped, "What do you think is going on?"

The hunter gave the sign for 'danger' before holding up his spear.

Nalu knew that was why he wanted her to stay. She couldn't argue with with that being the case. "You're going to go take a look? Be careful, okay?"

Scar noted her concern and responded the only way he knew how. Though human in appearance, being in this jungle for as long as he had made Scar act more like an animal at times. Such as now when he gently rubbed his forehead against the woman. Similar to how a house cat treated those it cared about. A sign of affection.

Nalu couldn't help but smile, "Alright, that's enough."

The corner of Scar's mouth curved slightly before he turned back towards the jungle. He put on the ferocious looking black and white feline mask on his face and in that moment he changed. The mask, long a mystical item of a lost civilization, fused with his face and infused him with the power of the jungle itself. A surge of power ran through his body and though he was unable to speak his mouth went wide in a silent scream.

He turned to look back over his shoulder, seeing Nalu standing there without fear and smiling reassuringly, before he hopped up to the nearest large branch and disappeared into the vegetation.

It was from its lack of keeping a low profile that Scar had been able to find what was trespassing in his domain.

Using the power of his mask to camouflage himself, the hunter blended in perfectly with the foliage of the jungle and was hiding high in the trees, moving with the Sender and keeping his distance. He had never seen anything like it before and his curiosity kept him from killing it right then and there. The last time he had witnessed an intruder in the jungle he hadn't waited a moment to dispatch of it. Here though, something told him to hang back and wait to see what happens.

That didn't last long as the Sender shot a beam of orange energy out of its palm. It caused a small bush to explode, scurrying the small family of rodents that had lived in it to the four winds. A small fire burned where it had once been.

That made the hunter change his tune. He growled lowly, the mask providing him with a 'voice' to sound his displeasure at this thing causing damage to his home, before letting out a warning roar that caused the Sender to look around in a panic.

By the time it's eyes found the spot that Scar had been on the hunter was already in a new spot, armed with his spear and ready to kill.

Though the roar was meant as a warning the Sender wasn't fazed by it. Instead it started blasting in every conceivable direction to try and lure the hunter out.

Scar wasn't stupid though. Having hunted his entire life he knew how to handle all kinds of prey and adversaries. He was surprised by the machine's amount of firepower for sure but the fact that it was a mad barrage made it all the easier to avoid.

When the machine's back was turned the hunter lept from the safety of his tree and onto the ground, hunched over like a feline ready to strike. He did so while remaining cloaked, and he threw his spear at the machine when it finally turned in his direction. With the force of the wild the spear lodged itself in the machine's torso, but the momentum behind it sent it flying back and stuck it to a tree trunk. Silver liquid spewed out of the wound its body had suffered and the body went limp after the impact.

Crawling along the ground carefully Scar made his way over to the body to see if it was dead. He didn't notice any movement and so he felt sure of himself to lower his guard and decloak his mask. With a clawed hand he grabbed the machine's head and noticed the lights were literally out in its eyes. He hummed lowly, not satisfied with how quickly this hunt had ended.

Then the lights flickered but Scar didn't move.

A mechanical voice spoke, "TARGET ACQUIRED. BEGINNING TRANSFER-"

Before Scar could react to the trap he had fallen into, both he and the machine disappeared in a flash of light.


	7. Shadow Summoner

Old London

13 A.C.

The sun was beginning to go down as a lone figure walked down a cobblestone street. The district, known before the Rising as White Chapel, was derelict as the rest of the city, not to mention the world. Long abandoned shops and cars littered the streets, and even skeletons of long gone citizens, many of whom died on the spot they rested, were on the verge of turning to dust.

London used to be a beautiful city, that much Jericho knew as he walked along the street. He stopped under a small archway and pulled out a cigarette. Dressed in a black leather jacket over a green and black football jersey, he blended in with the dark and that was just the way he wanted it.

"Last thing I want is to run into trouble whilst looking for something to eat," said the Brit as he lit his smoke. Down to his last few sticks he knew he would have to look for some eventually, though where he would find them was an issue altogether. Ever since the world went to hell he had been on the short end of a stick in finding anything to keep himself going.

Still, he was still kicking and that was all that mattered.

Taking a moment to admire the silence Jericho was momentarily distracted by low rumbling thunder. His eye turned to the side, seeing in the distance a pink and purple colored vortex high in the sky. Like an inverted hurricane it spun in the air, the center was like a black hole sucking anything in the air into it. Of course, what lay inside the abyss was nothing of this world, this the world knew for a fact.

They were known as lairs, home of the Great Gods, those cosmic beings who control the known universe. In cities all over the world lairs were found and within the surrounding metropolis they were integrated into their domain with no regard to the humans who lived there.

The rest, as they say, was history. and it was shit, in Jericho's view.

Echoing through the darkened streets was a grinding sound, and with it the end of Jericho's peaceful smoke. He lowered his hand with the smoke still burning, cursing under his breath as a human shaped figure armed with a torch in one hand and a small sickle in the other made its presence known. It's arms were ashen gray, the skin decaying that smelled as such. Pale yellow eyes could be seen from in the blackness of the hood it wore.

Yet it was not alone. Following close behind were two more dressed in similar fashion, and armed with sickles.

Jericho sighed, disappointed in his free time being cut short. "Thought I was safe for a moment. Fucking Legionaries.." He cleared his throat but kept his composure before taking in another smoke, almost not bothering to acknowledge the three followers of the Great God even as they got closer and closer.

Mindless zealots of the Great God of London, the Legionaries thought of nothing but serving their master. Some were followers by choice, others were forced or even sacrificed to the God. More often than not once they started to do after you there was virtually no escape.

Well, unless you were Jericho Creed.

He waited for them to pass under the shadow of the archway before he spoke a peculiar word.

"Sic'em."

Almost immediately a primordial growl was heard before a large black canine sprang from the darkness and into the trio of zealots. It immediately took one down by the neck and ripped the throat out. Blood splashed around the body as the dog continued to rip the former human's head right off its shoulders. The other two were momentarily stunned, distracted by the dog long enough for Jericho to throw a throwing knife at them. With precision the knife was embedded int he forehead of one and before the last one could react Jericho was right in front of him. He swung his free hand, which had a sharp knife held tightly in his grip, right at the man's throat. Slicing through the robe, skin, and severing the jugular arteries, the robed man reached for his throat but he was dead before he even hit the ground. Jericho's black jeans had drops of fresh blood on them as well as his jacket, but he was unfazed.

The big dog growled and snapped once, its six green eyes on its narrow head looking to Jericho.

The Brit nodded once, "Good boy, Shuck."

The big dog panted and went about walking the street. A hell hound named after an English legend, and bigger than a German Shepard, Shuck was Jericho's best friend. They never went anywhere without the other.

Taking one look up at the spiral of Legion one last time, Jericho went over and got both of his daggers back, cleaning off the crimson blood before putting them back in their holders. "Better get a move on before more show up. Let's go Shuck."

The dog followed his companion and while his nose was supernaturally enhanced he failed to notice the being watching them from a nearby rooftop. A tall metallic being with yellow eyes, watching the man and his dog walking down the street.

"TARGET ACQUIRED...RETRIEVING SUBJECT."


	8. Dragon Knight

Outside Paris, former City of Light

Outside the wall separating the Kingdom of Libidine and Limbo, three travelers went on their way into the former city of light. Its brightness had diminished in the last centuries and was now nothing but a glimmer. Just like the countryside they had just left, it was devoid of hope even as the people tried to get through their lives.

The three were as different from each other as colors of the rainbow. The one that was first was a woman with a silver bangle around her neck and a rather revealing dark robe that covered only certain areas of her body. Long platinum blonde hair was in a tail that trailed down her back to her knees. Her eyes were closed of her own choice, but she wasn't blind and knew where she was going. This was because of the lantern she carried on a staff in her left hand. It's blue light was a guide to her known as Virgil's Light and served as the sight she lacked. Behind her was a man in a brown tunic carrying a lyre. Bartholomew 'Bart' Adam was a traveling bard who had only recently joined up with this cleric and knight. Finally, in the back was a knight in dark grey armor, the armor was modeled after the fearsome wyrms of ages past, the helmet looked like a dragon's head. Draping from his shoulders was a dark cape with an elegant yellow dragon emblem in the back.

Heaving from his lack of physical fitness, Bart took a big breath before asking the cleric. "Una, you sure you don't want to rest? You've been walking all day."

Being a cleric requires a good deal of stamina and though she seemed physically frail Una was tougher than she looked. She hadn't broke a sweat by the time Bart had asked her.

"I have no need of rest, dear bard. I thank thee for your concern."

"My lady, you are barefoot and have shown no sign of weariness. The latter I applaud you for but the former adds to your troubles. Please rest, and I shall take front for the time being."

The bard's persistence was more out of the need to impress the woman as much as to assure her well being.. It was no secret he fancied her, and was also one of the reasons he tagged along with her and the knight.

Una stopped and turned her head slightly, yet before she could speak a third voice interrupted her.

"Let her be, Bart. Changing her mind is like trying to argue with a priest on Sabbath Sunday. No mileage gained with words against how headstrong she is in her duty."

Yet while Una had voiced her troubles of having a bard along for the journey, the knight known only as Lukas had allowed the man to venture without a second thought. That alone mystified Bart more than his mysterious nature. Slim dark grey armor used for fighting monsters (aimed more for mobility as much as protection) and not an inch of skin was shown, Lukas more often than not kept to himself while Bart and Una spoke in their conversations. His yellow eyes, seen only from the shadows of his helmet seemed only to look forward towards the task ahead and never behind him. A large great sword was held in his right hand and balanced on his shoulder, its length about as much as the man was tall and engraved with symbols of dragons. A smaller more crude blade was in his left hand. Bart had seen what the man could do in combat. The amount of monsters slain by those blades would be enough to immortalize a thousand songs if he ever put pen to paper.

Lukas walked on by the bard and cleric, the woman lowered her chin slightly as he passed as if in reverence before she followed him. The bard sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Very well, sir knight. Paris is not too far from here, I may say we should rest eventually. On a feather mattress, as well as after a warm meal and good drink, if at all possible."

"Persistence in such matters when we rested in a town no less than three days prior," said Una, almost unconcerned with what she had said.

"That's because I tend to favor being well rested before going into another day where we must battle monsters, lady Una. Last thing any of us need is a yawn from lack of sleep while fighting goblins or drakes."

The two kept on this conversation as they came across an apple orchard deprived of its fruit. The autumn had been in full swing and from there the harvest in preparation for winter was well underway.

Yet as devoid of people as it was expected to be in the middle of the night, there was a feeling of eyes on the trio that caused Lukas to stop not too far into the orchard. He did so after noticing Una being unresponsive to Bart's wooing.

"Lady Una?"

The light in her staff glowed a bright hue, the brightest he had ever seen it and it rattled on its hook. "Virgil, by thy light, show what impedes us."

Raising her staff above her head with both hands the light from the lantern went straight across the orchard and disappeared into the trees.

The lantern sought truth and it received it quickly as a towering humanoid walked through the trees, knocking them over as it appeared to the trio. Standing over nine feet tall, grey metallic armor that more resembled bones covered it from head to toe. It didn't carry any weapons but that didn't stop it from appearing formidable, even to the trio.

"What matter of being is that?" asked the bard before taking a step back. He did just as Lukas walked past him undaunted by what lay in their path.

"I sense a great malice frothing from thee..." said the cleric as she stepped aside for Lukas.

The knight, great sword in hand and ready for a fight only had one question left. "Anything else to know? Is it from the Nine Cities?"

The woman shook her head slowly, "I sense a similarity to the Nine from within it, but also not."

"Then it is not of this world? What a tale," said Bart as he backed up a few steps more. "I think I will take shelter until we know for sure."

His actions came as no surprise to the other two. He wasn't normally one to stick around when danger was near. They didn't blame him either.

"Go with him, Una. I would be cross should harm fall to you," said the the knight to the maiden.

She nodded once without a complaint. "May the drakes grant you strength, sir knight."

There were legends that the words of a cleric alone would be enough to channel the powers of the gods into those they deemed worthy of such power. More often than not Lukas had fit that bill in his journey. Now he was to pay it in full.

But he wouldn't be the first to act upon it. The armored creature came at him with surprising speed for its size, pulling back its long arm and clenching its fist tight in preparation for a punch.

Lukas was able to spin his body to avoid that blow, despite the heavy armor he wore and swung his great sword with one hand. The blade struck the enemy in the shoulder and sent it flying into a cluster of trees.

Lukas didn't wait to give it time to recover as he lunged to keep the fight on his foe. He wasn't one to linger when he had the advantage.

The enemy however, proved its worth by quickly getting to its feet and striking the other knight right in the chest with a fist.

Lukas felt the armor on his chest hold but none the less felt like he had gotten hit by an orc's great hammer. 'This thing is far stronger than it appears to be-'

Yet in that strike the knight clad in darkened grey stabbed his smaller blade into the back of its left shoulder. It kept him from flying back, but also did damage to the monster, though it wasn't apparent if it was hurt. No blood or sounds of pain.

"A unique demon..."

It tried to force the knight away with its hand but Lukas wasn't going to go anywhere.

Yet something happened next which made the knight shake. It spoke.

"TARGET ACQUIRED...BEGINNING TRANSPORTATION-"

A mechanical voice, an inhuman but not demonic voice, caught Lukas by surprise as a bright flash of white light pierced the shadows of his helmet and momentarily blinded him.

And when he opened them again he was no longer in a familiar place.


	9. Queensguard

Paris

1791

Notre Dame was on the verge of being set ablaze by Revolutionaries, and from there the response was quite clear.

Royalist guards loyal to the King and Queen of France went and surrounded the famed cathedral, preventing any and all those who wished to do it harm from getting close. They were vastly under prepared for the number of civilians that surrounded them. There were two large crowds, one for sacking the cathedral to spite the aristocracy , the other being there to stop the others from destroying a symbol of Paris and France as a whole.

The blue coated royals were not only out manned by outgunned, being armed only with muskets and their officer sabres. If things got out of hand, which was the way it was looking tonight, they would no doubt be slaughtered.

Yet help arrived within hours of their deployment.

The Duchess of Austria sent in her personal guard, the Queensguard, to help the situation. A trio of flamboyantly dressed soldiers in the spirit of the old musketeers of past times. That meant the wide brimmed hats and extravagant yet useful outfits. There were three soldiers in the 'guard, all dressed in different colors. All three were at the front of the cathedral, their mere presence being one reason the rioting in and around Notre Dame hadn't gotten any worse.

At least that is what Juste thought. The youngest of the trio, dressed in dominantly red and brown he had two rapiers attached to his hips ready to be drawn should trouble be started.

His superior Richter was inside speaking to the Archdeacon and the other priests, trying to convince them to leave the place before harm could come to them. The fact he had been in there for nearly an hour proved that wasn't as easy as it sounded.

There the final two guards remained at the front of the cathedral. Along with Juste was a woman dressed in a green uniform similar to him but her hat was more flamboyant and her outfit more form fitting. Being a woman in a role usual fit for men, the woman named Cerise let her skills prove her worth to her naysayers.

Juste crossed his arms over his chest and casually asked his comrade, "So, how long do you think this will go on?"

"Until they get what they desire, and maybe more," replied the woman. Cerise had always kept her opinions on the peasants and their issues to herself though more often than not she seemed to pity them. It was a sentiment that Juste shared with her, him being born of an impoverished family in the French countryside, he knew what these people were going through.

"Sometimes that is not enough," said Juste removing his hat to look up at the clear blue sky, distorted by the black smoke of the nearby fires of the protesting and riots. "Sometimes a hero is needed. Someone they can look up to."

"You think the Duchess could deliver?"

Juste chuckled. The woman he swore to protect was naive but she had drive. Usually that was all one needed to deliver on the good they hoped to give. "I'll give the Duchess the support she wants. Of course, when her sister is one of the rulers of this country and she's done a rather terrible job to say the least it makes the job even harder than it should be."

"I suppose so-"

Cerise's words were cut off by a bright flash of light on the rooftop across the clearing. Even the peasants that were rioting noticed it and went quiet. Then they all turned to see a tall humanoid about three meters tall and looking like it was wearing crude armor made of ash white bone. It was frightening to those who saw it, except for the two guardsmen that is.

Having seen magical beings and sword magic beyond expression there was little that could frighten either Juste or Cerise. Yet there was something about it that Juste didn't like so much that he lost his confident smile upon laying eyes on it.

"Cherie, what manner of creature would that be?"

The woman took a step forward, taking notice of the silence in the crowd before them. In her mind she ran through some possibilities but none of them made sense to her. 'If this was a part of the riots, no doubt they would not be acting like this wasn't expected...yet I don't think its here to help us-"

Her doubts were proven correct as the armor clad creature lept from the roof and landed in the middle of the clearing a couple dozen feet away. It shook the immediate area upon landing and knocked everyone around it off their feet. This was the catalyst that sent the crowd into another frenzy, but this one out of panic instead of protest. The people all took off in every direction and took cover and hid anywhere they could.

Until all that was left in front of Notre Dame were the two Queensguard and the strange creature.

"Well, now what to do?" asked Juste as he straightened the brim of his hat.

"I think Richter must know of this development."

Her answer was simple enough but something in Juste's mind was nagging at him. 'I don't think it will just let us leave...' He pulled out both of his small rapiers from their scabbards and rolled his neck on his shoulders. "Then fetch our captain. I shall indulge this...whatever it is."

Cerise's expression was one of incredulity. "Monsieur, you surely jest! You cannot-"

Turning to the woman Juste's cocky smile returned to his young face. "Worry not for me, Cher amie. I shall proceed with caution." He waved her off and turned back to the hulking brute before him.

Taking not but a moment to gather herself she quickly ran back and through the cathedral's large wooden doors.

Once his friend was inside Juste walked almost casually up to within arm's reach of this tall creature. "Now, monseiur-if I can even call you that-what brings you to Paris? The aristocracy? The Jacobin club? The Americans or even the British? I can't say that I blame them for taking advantage of this revolution-"

The young man stopped his diatribe, not because there wasn't a response but because the creature moved. Pulling its fist back and it was subsequently forced forward.

Juste saw it coming just barely and he leapt back just before the fist would have connected with his body. Concrete and brick flew into the air from the impact, a small hole was left behind in its wake.

More impressed with the speed than the fact he almost got pummeled, Juste ran around to behind the creature. "Shocking."

He didn't have long to admire the strength as he took off running in the opposite direction of the cathedral towards the streets leading away. The reason behind this was more to prevent it from going into the church but to be honest Juste hadn't thought about it any further than that.

As he ran down the street people scurried out of his way, and the creature followed close behind. It stomped with each step shook the street and it made Juste run even faster as a result.

He only had himself to blame for this roughshot plan. "Obviously I didn't think this through well enough!"

Turning a corner, the creature well on his heels, he came face to face with a line of blue coated soldiers. All of them were armed with muskets and were ready to fire.

"Prêt! Objectif! Feu!" called the captain. Juste only had enough time to dive forward before they pulled the triggers. The loud bangs of the guns echoed loudly through the neighborhood and Juste turned to see most of the shots hit their mark on the creature. The range was almost point blank and thus there was no way they could have missed. Yet from what Juste saw the lead balls merely bounced off the armor, sparks flying from contact.

They had no effect. The soldiers, courage lost in their bellies and energy flew to their feet, dropped their weapons and made off like frightened cats.

Juste was once again alone to face the monster. Yet he didn't try to run this time. He raised both his swords, "En garde!"

Before the creature knew what happened, the lone Queensguard was slicing with precision and stabbing as quick as a flash. It retaliated by swinging its massive fists, and missed every one as Juste dodged with increasing speed.

Using his training of be abusive yet elusive, Juste and his magically enhanced steel rapiers managed to make damaging blows to the creature but, even though he was aiming for where typically vital areas would be it didn't seem to slow his foe down.

He left noticeable marks but no blood was shed.

'But if I cant get him to bleed, then I might as well light him like a torch,' thought Juste. Hopping back a few meters, Juste concentrated into his swords using the magic granted to him by the Duchess to empower his swords with purifying power of fire. "Sabre de Flamme!"

Both blades were covered in a red hot flame and Juste could feel the fire as he swung them.

The creature raised its hands to defend itself, and every strike sparks and embers flew but Juste wouldn't let up even after his hat flew from his head.

Yet with each seemingly ineffective blow the monster was beginning to glow red on its arms, the armor heating up and cracking under the pressure.

"Come, monseiur, you must be more than just a fearsome facade," said Juste with a bit of cockiness in his voice.

The being took a step back, its armor glowing yellow-orange. It seemed to be backing down. Maybe out of surprise at the level of resistance it was faced with. Maybe that was why it got still and did nothing even as Juste was ready for another barrage.

Yet what happened next made Juste lose his smile as quickly as it had formed.

The creature spoke with a demonic sounding voice that chilled the guard to his core.

"TARGET EVALUATED. INITIATING PROTOCOL ONE: TRANSFER TO BATTLE WORLD BEGIN IN THREE...TWO...ONE-"

A bright light started within the chest of the creature and when it grew too bright Juste raised an arm to cover his eyes.

And when the light vanished, both the Queensguard and the creature-as well as the red hat that belonged to Juste-were gone.


	10. Ninja

Atros City, California

Normally a city louder than New York on most nights, Atros was unusually quiet on this hot summer night-before it was shattered like the glass of the front window on the hotel.

The Gladiator's Suite was a hotel five floors high and was the busiest hotels in the city, and tonight the place had some rowdy guests. Evidenced by a man being thrown out of the fourth floor window by an explosion from within the building. He landed-by shear dumb luck-into a dump truck full of sand that quickly sped down the street after finding itself brought into the chaos. He was followed out by a couple of individuals who landed on the street, all of whom had expected trouble.

"God dammit! Why do we always get caught with our pants down?" said the beleaguered big man who looked like a muscled sumo wrestler but also tall and of Japanese ethnicity. His name was Hanzo, and the reason he was pissed was because he was only wearing a towel around his hips. Despite his girth he was mostly muscle, and his skin slick.

Landing next to him was an African American man half as tall as he was with long black dreadlocks. He was shirtless, showing off his toned upper body. Unlike Hanzo he wore black track pants. The man was named Jace, and like Hanzo he too was upset. "At least not all of us were brought into a fight without a clue..."

Jace and Hanzo turned back and looked up at the fourth floor where until a few moments ago, their hotel room had been. Now it was ablaze because of someone wanting to pick a fight with them, and had brought a grenade to a fist fight. By all accounts they were lucky to be alive.

Thanks to Hanzo Jace had escaped by the skin of his teeth. "Thank you for the save, big man."

Slapping a hand onto his belly Hanzo gave a hearty laugh, "Haha! Shit man, you're lucky I was just coming out of the bathroom."

Then Jace remembered something important. His eyes went wide when he remembered that he and Hanzo were not the only ones who had been in that room. "The others!"

Making an audible 'oh' Hanzo nodded at Jace. The two ran back through the doors of the hotel, running past the other patrons who were fleeing for their lives and back up the stairs.

The fourth floor had cleared itself out quickly following the explosion. No fire was present by luck, but there was damage to the place that was going to cost a pretty penny.

Also strewn through the hall were the unconscious or semi-conscious bodies of men dressed in tactical gear. A SWAT team sent by the corrupt commissioner of Atros' police force to apprehend the four targets.

Again they went in to get them. Again they failed.

Another SWAT officer was sent flying out of the blown out door to what had been Room 15. The door had been blown off the hinges initially by the team for a breach and clear. However, someone from inside had expected trouble to come knocking, and with that in mind had booby trapped the other side with trip wire that exploded if enough friction was caused. A door being rammed in with a battering ram was certainly enough to cause the wire to snap.

Five more officers came swarming up the stairs and got to the door. Once inside all the safety on their semi-auto weapons and went on in. The bathroom door was the first room they encountered. The light was on and the shower running by a quick sweep showed no one was inside.

The first SWAT called clear and then moved on.

They got as far as the living room before the lead officer called out. "Drop to the floor, now!"

He was talking to a young woman who was standing in the center of the room. The large screen television was on, its screen nothing but static, and the overhead light was able to show a woman who was in her late teens and had a curvaceous figure. Buxom but in a proportionate way, she wore a pink crop top that was at least one size too small, to the point where the underside of her voluptuous bust could be seen and, much to the shock of the men who saw her, she wasn't wearing anything else save for tight pink panties. She stood with her hands up and her legs close together, her long copper red hair loose and cascading down her shoulders. She appeared calm despite guns being drawn on her.

"Why do you guys always arrive at the most inappropriate time?"

She sounded like the SWAT team had been a minor inconvenience to her. Like the seriousness wasn't disturbing her in the slightest.

"Down on the ground now!" called the officer once again.

"Okay, okay!"

She didn't just go to the ground but fell-just before a flurry of metal objects were thrown from behind her. Four pointed shurikens that flew with amazing speed and went right through the armor of the policemen, hitting vital points that sent them to the ground instantly. They never knew what hit them.

The woman sighed as she got back to her feet. "Geez, these guys never seem to quit do they?"

The man who had thrown the shurikens, and had gone completely unnoticed by the SWAT team walked past the woman and right to a large suit case and went through it. He didn't say a word before he tossed a pair of pink and white faded jeans to the woman. "Get dressed. We're leaving."

The woman pouted like a child, "Awww, but I'm tired, Ichijo!"

"No complaining, Kazumi. Get going." The Japanese man with short spiky black hair reached further into the suit case and pulled out a small sword in a black scabbard adorned with the image of a gold oriental dragon. It was known as a ninjato, a Japanese styled sword used primarily by shinobi or ninja as they are primarily known as.

Kazumi huffed, but complied as ordered. she had just about been ready to go to sleep when the cops had shown up and because of that she wasn't her peppy self and instead a bit cranky.

Too bad Ichijo didn't give too shits about that at the moment. He knew the police would come back after the initial team failed. "We have to regroup with Jace and Hanzo, then flee before more show up."

"Never fear, Hanzo is here!"

Kazumi started putting her pants on just as their two friends ran into the room. Both she and Ichijo were ready to go. He was wearing red and orange pants used in martial arts and an open black leather vest. Black shoes completed the ensemble for the man known as the infamous Black Dragon.

Hanzo laughed as he saw Kazumi shimming her hips to get her pants on. "Glad to know I ain't the only one who got caught with my pants down."

Kazumi smiled half-heartedly, still a bit sore she wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, and finished getting dressed. Jace shook his head before running over to get his laptop, which was the most precious piece of equipment the team had.

"I assume we meet up at the main rendezvous?"

Hanzo went and got dressed in a black and red outfit that was easy for him to slip on on such short notice. "That would be-" he changed his tone to a whisper before continuing, not sure if anyone was able to hear him. "-The Pit right?"

The Pit was an underground fighting arena and the main hiding spot for Ichijo and his team. The owner there was a "friend" of theirs, and that was a word used lightly.

Ichijo nodded, "Split up and meet there within an hour. Then we'll plan our next move-" he turned to Kazumi who had her back to the three men as she slipped a neon pink bra on. "Then we can rest for awhile."

The girl turned herself around and cheered gleefully. Ichijo wasn't distracted by her, he had seen her naked hundreds of times before. Strangely enough Kazumi wasn't bashful about herself when it came to her modesty. One would suppose being around three ninja guys for over two years did that to one's psyche.

Ichijo was the first to be ready, but he didn't move towards the door until the rest of his team was ready. Only after Jace had finished destroying the other pieces of equipment were they ready.

"To the roof."

The team went outside and got to the roof with superhuman speed. Even a man the size of a truck like Hanzo moved with subtlety which would surprise anyone. Once on the rooftop Ichijo gave the order.

"Four Winds, scatter."

Jace didn't waste a moment and went east, intending to take the long way around to reach the Pit. Hanzo went south, intending to pick up a snack on the way to his destination. Kazumi, after giving a wave and smile to her partners, went east. She would also take a long way to avoid detection. That left the northern path to Ichijo, the straightforward path. Shouldering his sword known as Broken Fang he took off, hopping from rooftop to rooftop.

Little did he know that he was being watched but a silent sentinel like figure of three meters tall and made of bone like armor. It had been watching the team, particularly Ichijo, the entire time unnoticed.

It had a mechanical voice as it spoke. "TARGET IDENTIFIED...INITIATING RETRIEVAL."

Then it moved to complete its mysterious mission.


	11. Devil's Daughter

New York City

Hell's Kitchen

In Hell's Kitchen there was rarely a night without violence. Tonight, while no different, had a special flavor added to it.

The Persephone Suite was a high traffic area for delinquents of the City that never sleeps. Beggars, drug dealers, hookers, and even those who humans believed were nothing more than myth came here to wallow their existence away. Parties lasted all night, from dusk to dawn, and the music was loud.

Yet it was the crashing of furniture and screaming of patrons that was the loudest tonight.

People began running out of the club almost running over each other to get out. Eventually a loud bang happened and the entire entrance to the club was blown out-and a large object was thrown out onto the street in front of the club. A hulking brute that made Andre the Giant look small, seemingly made of crude white bone like armor from head to toe. It was covered in scratches from the explosion and got to its feet slowly, not at all disturbed by the fact that it had been hurled outside. In fact it felt nothing at all.

The tapping of metal on concrete was heard as the last of the people from inside the club vacated the premises. From the smoke flowing out from inside the club came a lone woman with crimson red hair that reached the base of her neck with black streaks on her bangs. Wearing a woman's red leather duster over a black top that just covered her endowed chest and hip hugging short shorts she gave off an alluring and lustful air, with a touch of rebellion as an added sweetener. Yet the steel toed six inch heeled boots were a signal of danger to any man-or woman-that wanted a piece of her action. They reached her shapely thighs with ease and comfort that shouldn't have been possible. Yet she wore them without a care in the world and her attire was like an open invitation to the world to try her out.

Polina never backed down from a challenge, even the weird ones like now.

She got tot he center of the street while the weird creature stared her down. In her gloved right hand was a small scepter made of silver and had a pink jewel in the hilt. She turned her head to the creature, "You know its not my style to go all rough on the first meeting..." She gave a playful smirk, "But you're on an entirely different level. So, from what circle of hell do you come from?"

She half expected an answer from what she supposed was a devil sent to retrieve her. Yet she waited and didn't get one. Not that she was surprised. Most devils didn't speak when a demon lord was sent after her.

Yet this thing hadn't uttered a word to her since they had met moments ago, which wasn't a usual response.

Polina shrugged her shoulders. "Guess I ain't getting a word out of you. Just let my mother know when you see her that I want nothing to do with Hell."

She had literally blinked once and she almost didn't notice it. The creature had moved at her during her diatribe and she had only enough time to move her head out of the way of its large fist. It zoomed past her and came to a stop down the street.

Blinking in surprise Polina pressed the button on her rod which released a thick wire, turning her scepter into a whip. "So that's how you want it, huh?"

Seeing that words were no longer necessary, Polina began to change. Her air remained alluring but a power she didn't like to use freely began to come to the surface. Her hair changed color to a neon pink, her eyes went the same color and a pair of curved horns sprouted from her temples.

The devil's daughter had come out to play. She only had one request, but knew she wouldn't get an answer. "Please be rough with me."

The monster didn't respond except with another lunging attack. This time she saw it coming and moved to the side. Yet as she did so she wrapped the length of the whip around the monster's arm. This caused its momentum to be thwarted and it spun back around. The wire went taut around its shoulder, the razor sharp wire digging into its armor, causing little cracks to form. That wasn't the worst of it, as it came back to Polina her right fist collided with its face. Normally a demon's strength would smash concrete into dust but her gloved hand had spiked knuckles made of the same material as her whip and thus a major indentation of her fist was embedded into the monster's face. Despite its size it was like a spinning top, losing its balance and spinning again.

Polina's whip was wrapped around the creature as it made a full spin before it finally fell over and landed on the ground. Polina got on top of it, driving her knee into its upper back and with her whip wrapped around its neck and her full weight bearing down on it there was no way it could get back up.

Her voice sounding playful yet demonic at the same time, Polina asked a question. "Anything else you want to ask?"

She thought she heard it say something and so she leaned in closer to hear it better.

"Say that again, I couldn't quite hear you."

Then it actually spoke, and it was unlike anything she had heard before. "TARGET ACQUIRED...BEGINNING TRANSFER."

Polina's eyes went wide before a bright white light overflowed her and the creature.

When it vanished, so had they, gone without a trace to God knows where.


	12. The Storm

San Francisco Chinatown, California

Friday nights were usually very quiet and by all accounts boring in this neighborhood. Tonight started out no different, with all the shops starting to close down when nine o'clock came around or even earlier because of lack of customers.

The restaurant known as the White Tiger, a Chinese eatery, was ready to lock its doors for the night-until those same doors were blown off the hinges from what looked like a ball of fire colliding with them. Grey smoke came from inside the building and went up towards the sky, and the smell of burning paper permeated the air.

"The hell was that?" Coughing uncontrollably and gasping for air at the same time, Xian stumbled out of the restaurant and fell to the ground in the street in front of his grandfather's establishment. His clothes, consisting of a Wing Chun martial arts uniform colored blue green, had smoke come off it but otherwise it was undamaged.

Following the teenager out the door close behind was his twin sister, older by a few minutes at birth. She too wore a blue green martial arts outfit but this one was in a Tai Chi style that covered her whole body but looked no less elegant on her. Her long raven hair was up in a delicate but secure bun so it wouldn't get in the way of her training.

Leixia regained her breath and went to check on her brother, "You okay, Xian?"

The fifteen year old nodded and took deep breaths, inhaling big gulps of fresh clean air. "Zǐ nà shì shénme?"

Speaking in their native Chinese was still a habit the twins had ever since they moved from Hong Kong months ago. They tried to speak only English but habits died hard.

Leixia shook her head and helped her brother to his feet. He had asked about the thing that had attacked them in the dojo just moments before. They had been training with each other and were just about to finish up when...well, all hell broke loose. "No clue, brother-"

Heavy foot steps caused mini tremors to go through the asphalt. The twins used each other to steady themselves as whatever had attacked them in their grandfather's home made its way outside. It was a tall figure, standing at about nine feet tall, with armor covering it from head to toe that resembled crude bone. It was bulky too, and it dwarfed the two teenagers easily. It stood facing them, and waited for a response.

"Looks like it isn't done with us," said Xian, finally getting his breath back.

His sister nodded once, "As if breaking into grandfather's home and tossing us outside wasn't a big enough clue."

"Leixia. Xian."

A voice from inside the restaurant got the twins' attention and when they looked in that direction they had to raised their hands to catch what had been tossed at them. A pair of swords in jade colored scabbards with gold tassels on the handles. Etched into the scabbards were words in Chinese meant to name what was housed inside. For Xian it was thunder, and his sister got lightning.

Together the two swords were known as The Storm, and the twins were its reluctant keepers.

Xian shrugged his shoulders and tied the sword to his back while Leixia held onto it tightly.

The person who threw them their weapons stepped out from the smoke and into the open. The old man, aged in the upper seventies, was the twins' grandfather. "Take care of that thing. If its after the Storm you better make sure it doesn't get them."

Xian liked the idea of a fight and so he jumped to the option. "Got it, grandpa but what about the fire?"

"That should be the least of our issues, brother," said Leixia as she stared down the creature that seemed ready to cause more mayhem, for whatever reason it had for doing so.

Seeing how his sister had a point, and the fact that his grandpa probably had already taken care of the fire, Xian turned to the golem thing like his sister did. "So, think we can take it? It looks tough."

"That it does."

Then the boy smirked, "Should we use the swords? They could give us an edge."

"I would prefer not to, if at all possible, brother."

Xian let his frustration edge out against his better judgment. "Wèile shàngdì de ài, jiějiě!"

His complaint caused Leixia's normally composed nature to fall but for a moment. "Tài wéixiǎnle, xiōngdì!"

Her call that it was too dangerous was not unfounded. Though they were the designated keepers of the Storm, the twins had only recently begun to use their power to defend themselves from attackers. Such power, being born of ancient deities long since forgotten, was hard to control and thus they had been training constantly so they didn't destroy Chinatown by accident.

Yet Xian insisted they had trained enough, and his argument of desperate times call for desperate measures was hard enough to argue with.

"...just use the blades, not their power," Leixia said, returning to her calm demeanor.

"No magic. Fair enough." Though he complied with his sister it was obvious that Xian wasn't happy with with how his argument ended. 'Someday we will have to be more than just swordsmen..."

Now that their argument was settled, the twins had to deal with this monster, which had eerily been standing by listening to them argue for the last few minutes.

Little did the twins know that while they had been talking, the monster had been making calculations in its core and after sensing the power emanating from the swords, it needed no more information than that to finish its mission. It had come to this place after sensing a great power and it hadn't taken it long to find what it had been looking for.

The core in its chest pulsed back information to the one who sent it to this world, and made the final decision in its computerized brain.

"TARGETS FOUND...PREPARING FOR TRANSPORT."


	13. Son of Hades

Athens, Greece

The Arena

The sun was high, the air was hot, and blood was being shed in the famed Arena in the pantheon. It could hold hundreds of spectators, and today it was full to capacity as a battle royal was being fought between two dozen fighters from all over Europe as well as certain corners of the known world, all for the spectacle of the aristocrats and even the royal family of Rome who were sitting in attendance.

Well, it had started out with two dozen fighters. Within a few minutes that number had been cut in half like a sword through armor. Bodies littered the sand covered ground lying in pools of fresh blood, as well as body parts and armor strewn about. Men and women, no discrimination of gender was allowed.

Now there were at least five participants left. The leading gladiator, with five kills under his belt in this fight alone, was now on the verge of getting his sixth. "Come here, wench!"

He reached out with a massive arm and grabbed hold of a woman with long golden blonde hair and wearing a shear white tunic that was nearly see through as well as a matching white skirt. She had worn armor over her chest earlier but it had been knocked off in a scuffle with another fighter. Her weapons were scattered on the ground.

The man named Nerus hoisted the woman up, holding her high over his head with ease as she weakly squirmed to break free. "Unhand me, brute!"

Nerus grinned before he drove her down into the ground head first like a spear. She became a heap on the ground, staring up at the man as she tried to get her bearings but her head was knocked for a loop. He reached down and grabbed her once again. One massive hand grabbed the back of her head by the hair while the other got a handful of her tunic on the chest. "So much for Iliana the Amazon warrior! Let this be proof that women don't deserve to be fighters!" He hoisted her up to her feet.

Iliana drove the point of her elbow into his stomach, knocking the wind out of his chest before she delivered an uppercut with her left fist to the underside of his jaw. Small traces of blood shot out of his mouth from the blow. Being an Amazon meant Iliana was, contrary to her buxom appearance, stronger than the average woman.

She was also not going to stand a man looking down on her with misogynistic tendencies. So her volley of punches to his face was her venting her frustration on his face.

Yet Nerus was a veteran fighter of many battles in the arena. A series of blows like that was not going to take him down.

He waited until there was a gap in her attacks before he backhanded her across the face. A blow like that knocked Iliana away and she was seeing stars. Her fury had blinded her to potential counterattack and she paid for it.

She was going to suffer for it as well, since Nerus grabbed her and pulled her to him. "I'll break you, woman." He got down on one knee and forced Iliana to bend over backwards over his extended knee.

Iliana only had time to gasp before the constriction on her back made it hard for her to breathe. Not only that but Nerus was pushing down on her chest as well as her legs, forcing her to bend in a bow. It made it hard to get air and struggling was even more of a challenge. Not only that but the point of his knee was going into her spine and she could almost feel bones cracking under the pressure.

No doubt Nerus was enjoying the torture he was putting on her. That enjoyment blinded him to the arrival of the other fighter that came up behind him. He gasped as two hands grabbed hold of his head and with great strength and ease twisted it. His neck snapped like a twig and he gave a death groan before being pushed aside.

Iliana felt the pressure ease up on her and quickly rolled to escape the situation. When she got to her feet she saw that Nerus was lying dead in a heap, and the man who had killed him was standing over his body.

The man was bare chested and muscular, no armor save for that which covered his forearms with damaged steel and brown shorts that were in tatters and reached his knees. His skin was covered in tribal markings and scars of past battles. He peered down at the Amazon, is left eye was covered in a patch hidden behind short sandy brown hair. His lone blue eye peered down at Iliana with stoic demeanor that was as cold as ice.

Bringing a hand to massage her lower back Iliana remained defiant. Though he had saved her from a tortuous death, she was upset that she never got to kill Nerus herself. "I am not going to thank you, Alexius."

"Thank me for what? He was distracted and so I took advantage of it."

So like Alexius, a fighter first and foremost. Much like Nerus had been Alexius was a seasoned fighter who had fought many gladiatorial battles over his young life. Not even thirty and he was a respected fighter that stories were told of him even in the aristocracy. He was also feared for his cold hearted demeanor and willingness to take on anyone and kill without mercy.

Yet, considering this wasn't the first time Iliana had crossed paths with him in the arena she had a sneaky feeling that he had been taking it easy on her.

Going for her short sword and small shield Iliana felt complete and ready to finish this fight. She saw that there was no one else around the arena, meaning that it was down to her and Alexius. "You killed the others?"

Alexius nodded. "They tried to take me on all at once, but obviously failed."

The crowds started to get restless, and when that happened usually meant that the fighting had gone to a crawl. Not a good sign.

"Well, looks like we cannot avoid this any further," said the woman warrior and raised her sword.

Alexius narrowed his eye and sighed, "I'm tired of fighting you."

Iliana blinked, "Huh?"

"We've fought multiple times. The result is always the same. It's boring."

Going red in the cheeks Iliana lowered her arms. "You're calling me boring?!"

He turned his back to her, "Go and train some more. After that maybe I will fight you again."

With a screech that showed how insulted she was Iliana charged at Alexius. She swung her sword intending to cut his head off from his shoulders-but Alexius knew Iliana's fighting style to a degree and had raised his right arm. The steel gauntlet that covered his arm, forged by Hephaestus himself, broke the steel blade into many pieces the moment it came into contact with it.

Iliana gasped and her eyes widened in shock.

She didn't have time to prepare for the next blow as Alexius spun with a closed fist and sent it towards her left side. His fist, covered in a black fire that was surprisingly cold, collided with the Amazon's shield. Like the sword it was broken through with ease and blew into many pieces-and her forearm was shattered as well.

Iliana cried out in absolute pain. Dropping the handle of her broken sword she cradled her broken arm to her stomach before dropping to a knee. Tears of pain wanted to escape her eyes but she refused to show weakness, she was desperate to keep her pain to a minimum.

Yet Alexius knew for a fact that this woman was no quitter. There was only one sure way she would stop fighting. As she held her arm Alexius reached for her back and grabbed a hold of her tunic. With one tug he tore the entire cloth off her body. Iliana gasped once again before she screamed in complete humiliation as her naked body was exposed, revealing her buxom chest to the absolute delight of the crowd. She brought both arms to cover herself (to little avail) and fell on her bare back on the sand.

Alexius sighed as he stood over the humiliated woman. "Give it up. Broken arm or not you won't leave here alive if you continue."

He knew her dignity as a fighter was ultimately second to the fact that she was a woman with delicate sensibilities. It was something he had learned from her in the numerous times they had crossed paths. As much as she wanted to fight on, she knew she was in no condition to do so. In his mind he was doing her a favor.

Still, she was defiant. "Damn you to Tartarus..." She rolled to her side to avoid his eye, feeling defeated and dejected, not to mention humiliated.

Alexius huffed, "Been there." He stood over the woman, a symbol of dominance, and the trumpets sounded as a signal to the end of the fight.

With that signal he tried to help her up but she refused his offer. Instead he grabbed a discarded cloak form a fighter who had fallen earlier and tossed it on her before he walked towards the exit to the soldier quarters.

Meanwhile, on the highest point of the stadium with Mt. Olympus prominently in the background, a stoic sentinel had been watching the fight and was intrigued with Alexius.

"TARGET LOCATED. BEGINNING RETRIEVAL AND TRANSPORT..."


	14. Kitsune Samurai

Tokyo, Japan

Inoue Shrine

The month of march marked the end of the harsh and bitter winter and heralded the arrival of the sweet and optimistic warmth of spring. The cherry blossoms were in full bloom and with the gentle breeze they added beauty to the forested area around Mt. Fuji.

Too bad that Takeru was having trouble admiring the peace when he was constantly bullied by boys from his school.

Luckily he wasn't alone these days.

Walking beside him, eyes straight ahead towards the shrine, was a dark haired beauty wearing the girls school uniform consisting of a cherry blossom pink jacket and forest green skirt. Stockings that completely covered her legs completed her ensemble. Well, she also wore a white skull cap on her head that was at an angle. The jacket she wore was only halfway buttoned, mostly because of the fact that her chest was voluptuous and was barely contained in the fabric.

As the two finished their trek to the shrine, Takeru had to breathe a sigh of relief. "Thanks for walking me home, Megumi-sama."

The woman, who appeared to be the same age as the boy, rolled her eyes. "I didn't do it out of kindness. I did so I could keep an eye on you. As is my duty."

This time Takeru had to roll his eyes. 'There she goes again with her duty talk...' Same old Megumi just on a different day. "You never do take it easy, do you?"

She turned her head slightly, her supernatural enhanced beauty beginning to shine past her human facade. No doubt the fact that she was back on the Shrine grounds gave her reason to no longer hide her true self. She added emphasis on that by removing her hat, which revealed a pair of small canine ears on the top of her head. Her eyes also turned more brown and lightened up as if they had been hiding until now.

The kitsune princess was revealed and she tossed her school bag to Takeru as he stood dumbfounded. "My duty is the only reason I allow myself to be in your presence." Her voice was filled with utter disdain. She never hid her true feelings about anything, as Takeru noted how she felt about him.

Other wise she would have more than likely killed him at their first meeting.

'Well, not really, her family has protected mine since feudal times. She might have just killed me and called it an accident,' thought Takeru half jokingly. "Still, I appreciate the effort you put into your duty. I just wish you'd be a bit more open to me about yourself, since we're engaged-"

She turned sharply to him, her eyes narrowed like there were filled with anger. "Do not speak of that in my presence if you value your well being."

Takeru let his breath out. Despite her beauty Megumi had proven to be sharp with her tongue, and her threats were never idle.

"I was stating the truth. I don't like it anymore than you do, but we're going to get married in the future and I figured we'd just accept it."

An arranged marriage that neither Takeru nor Megumi wanted or expected to happen. Long story short he had technically saved her life and by some loop in their code Megumi's father said that she was honor bound to the man who saved her. That meant marriage and...she had been constantly putting up a fight with it ever since.

Though it had been months since their engagement had been finalized, Megumi had accepted it only out of respect for her family. She didn't treat Takeru like a typical fiance would, but more like a lesser person which he couldn't fight about. Still, Megumi made no attempt to hide how she felt about the entire situation, and often repeated it so no one would forget. "You can accept it because you are a man. I don't see myself as a just a woman, but as a samurai. I live only to cross blades with strong opponents. Our union is but a bump in that road."

Shaking his head Takeru took his school bag off his shoulder and walked up to the girl. Though she was about the same height He looked into her eyes. Hers were stoic and almost cold, which contrasted with the warm spring air. "Regardless, we're stuck in this together. I just think we ought to make the best of it, right?"

Though he didn't like the idea of marrying before he was eighteen Takeru had since accepted that he wasn't going to get out of it (the only way out as he had been told was by death. He obviously didn't want that), he had tried to look forward to it. Too bad his bride-to-be was more willing to commit seppuku than marry a human. Still, he held out hope that she would be won over with the idea.

He expected a high and mighty reply of negativity from his bride-to-be. Instead she exhaled lightly. "I have set my path in stone, Takeru. I am a warrior. I will live and die by the sword."

She accepted the marriage, but it was never at the front of her mind.

Takeru could accept that. He shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me. Just help me keep your brother and mother from pressuring us okay? Yesterday they invited me over so we could talk about after the marriage."

Megumi put a hand to the fox tail shaped golden hairpin on her left temple. She knew that unlike her, her brother and mother were far more excited about the impending marriage and didn't resist any temptation to remind Megumi about it. "Ugh, what did they talk about this time?"

"About whether we would move in with them and should they expand the house for when we expand the family."

Megumi's eyes went wide at the implication, not to mention she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. "Damn them and their-" Her fox ears twitched at a sudden sound and she stopped speaking. Turning her head towards the forest and sniffed the air.

Takeru noticed instantly. "What's wrong?"

Taking the hairpin from her hair Megumi held it in her left hand, "Takeru, go inside." In a fraction of a second the pin changed into a katanna in a bright green scabbard with a pink handle and gold guard. For a second pink blossom petals appeared before disappearing into thin air.

The boy didn't have to ask why. He knew when things were going to get serious with Megumi. Still, he had to say one last thing. "Be careful."

She quietly acknowledged his words and watched as he quickly ran towards the house and closed the door behind him.

Only when he was gone did Megumi address the stillness of the air. "Come on out, whatever you are."

Heavy foot steps were heard before a tall human shaped figure stepped out of the trees. As tall as three meters and wearing what could only be described as white bone like armor from head to toe, this being looked like a medieval European knight minus the weapons.

Yet there was s till an aura of malice that Megumi could sense coming from it. She felt a twinge of excitement build in her chest. A feeling she only ever got when facing strong foes.

She tied her katanna to her skirt on her left side. "State your business here or begone."

The creature said noting, though a strange effect happened in its chest. A bright white light began to pulse within, growing brighter with each passing second.

Then the creature spoke in a mechanical almost demonic voice.

"TARGET IDENTIFIED...BEGINNING RETRIEVAL..."

Megumi got into a battle stance, her right hand grasping the handle of her sword, ready for battle. She spoke to her blade softly, and managed to bring a small smile to her lips. "Time to dance, Shinohana..."


	15. Soul Reaper

Yeonog Island, South Korea

Autumn

The City of the Dead was not quiet tonight.

A large chunk of Yeonog was covered in shrines and tombstones dating back to the Joseon Period, maybe even longer, and was a popular tourist attraction on this otherwise boring island.

Yet tonight it resembled more of a battleground than a large cemetery. People who had come to see the sights or pay respects to their families were running for their own lives out the large red gates at the four entrances to the city, screaming of a giant monster smashing anything in its wake.

Still as people fled out, one teenage Korean girl in a black and white high school uniform ignored the danger and ran inside. A large shrine was at the top of a hill, and it was there that a small quake shook the surrounding area and a tall cloud of dust exploded into the air. That was where she was going and she didn't hesitate.

The building at the top exploded as she reached the second to last landing before it. She covered her head with her arms and stumbled onto the steps in front of her, avoiding all the debris that came from the buildings remains. Then she continued on up to the top. A large cloud of smoke and dust covered the area and she stopped just inside the gate that was still standing.

Coughing as the plume started to overcome her, she managed to get a word in edgewise. "Jeung! Are you here?"

Her words echoed through the cloud, but as hopeless as they seemed to be in this deserted place, she managed to reach someone.

"Cover your eyes."

The calm and stoic voice ordered her and the girl followed it.

From within the smoke, a single swing of a large sword forced the cloud to scatter to the four winds, clearing the immediate area and revealing the presence of a young man in black leather and wearing a charcoal black trench coat. Short black hair that mostly covered the left side of his face hid his left eye. He had no left arm, and the sleeve was dangling from his shoulder.

Shouldering the large blade known as an odachi (Japanese large katanna), Jeung approached the girl. Such a large blade should have been unable to be used with one hand but as the girl knew the man before her was much stronger than he looked. He appeared to be no older than twenty, but as the girl had figured out in the last few months she knew better than to assume he was the same as her. The fact was he was older than her. Centuries older to be exact. That was because Jeung wasn't human, but a spirit known as a jeoseung-saja, a death messenger straight from Korean folklore.

"You shouldn't be here, Nari. It's dangerous on a regular basis, but now its even more so," said Jeung.

"I know, but I was with my club at the city entrance and saw people screaming and..." she wanted to tell him she was worried about him but she found herself hesitating. She had to remind herself that he was a spirit. 'Can he even feel pain? I mean he's already dead so is it possible?'

"Regardless of how you feel, to run headlong into the unknown is reckless, you should understand that."

Not taking kindly to being chastised for her sentiment, Nari lay a hand in the center of his chest. "But I was worried about you! Is there something wrong with that?"

Jeung's breath stopped as he felt the warmth of her hand. He found his countenance melting once again because of this odd girl. They had only known each other for nearly a month and yet as many centuries he had lived there had never been a human who piqued his interest such as Nari had. For starters she could see and talk to him, which was a level of spiritual awareness that was literally unheard of in the spirit world. And as far as Nari knew, she was the only one who could see him-let alone talk to him. Then there was somehting about her that struck Jeung to the core. Her looks alone did that. Long dark hair, a slender but beautiful appearance, and hazel brown eyes that held a profound determination behind them.

Yet that wasn't what he respected about her most-she was pretty fearless, proving that he as a spirit didn't frighten her.

A loud crash coming from behind the spirit made him regain his composure. He was reminded of the danger he had been handling until just a moment ago. But now he had to make sure Nari got to safety. "You better get going."

Lowering her hand Nari took a step back. "But what about you?"

Jeung turned to have his back to her, just in time to see the danger he spoke of step out of the destroyed shrine. A tall lumbering humanoid shaped figure covered head to toe in what could only be described as ash white bone stepped heavily out of the smoke. It looked like it was a knight from Europe, though the large vertical gash on the left of its chest was deep and yet no blood was shed. Jeung had noticed that right away. He also noticed that the center of its chest was glowing with a white light. A heart perhaps?

'It took my attack without flinching...' he thought, remembering how it had taken a single slash from his sword while only lightly fighting back. Jeung spoke to Nari. "I will be alright."

The City of the Dead, with its countless spirits inhabiting it, could sense that Jeung needed their help. They came from every corner of the city. From every tomb, every shrine, every grave they poured their energy into his being.

"Haeje," said the reaper, releasing but a fraction of the power he held deep inside. That power manifested by creating a new left arm and giving him his left eye back. Both his arm and eye were glowing with green supernatural energy and a current surrounded his feet, kicking up the air and overwhelming Nari's senses. Such spiritual power washed over her and made it hard to breathe. Yet even as that happened, she was more at a loss at Jeung's change in appearance.

"I don't want you to be harmed. Please go," said the reaper one final time.

This time, due to the concerning tone in his voice, Nari didn't argue. "Please be safe."

She then turned and ran back the way she came. That gave Jeung a reason to sigh in relief, before he remembered what stood across the clearing waiting for him to resume what they had started.

Shouldering the blade again, hefting it with ease with one hand, he took a step forward. "By order of the Life Bureau, you are charged with trespassing in the City of the Dead, and shall be dealt with according to the law."

The creature didn't respond, though the light in its chest began to pulse not unlike a heartbeat.

Then Jeung made his move, lunging with both hands on the handle of his sword and right back into combat.

But by the time he reached the creature, the light in its chest flashed brightly and caught him by surprise-and when the light dimmed, both the spirit and the monster he was fighting had vanished without a trace.


	16. Iron Patriot

Blackberry, Massachusetts

1951

A scientist ran through a large set of metal doors when they had opened just enough to let him through. He was in a very big hurry, as what was going on was the most urgent-not to mention opportunistic chance-in recent memory.

The scientist was a man named Edward Burk, fresh from college in Harvard and his first major job was to be a part of Project Hammer outside Black Berry, Massachusetts.

He was still amazed by the fact that he was working on a top secret pro-American defense project with a renowned scientist in the field of diesel-automata.

A warehouse in the woods north of Black Berry, hidden from prying eyes, the warehouse was big enough to hold a Boeing bomber but inside it had a small house like structure built in the center. The house looked like it had been taken directly from suburbia and dropped right into the place. That and someone cut it right in half to see what was going on in the inside.

Right in the kitchen at the table, smoking a cigar and looking over papers of that day's briefing was Doctor Fredrick Walsh. Wearing thick black glasses and a white lab coat the man was only in his early thirties but was a man of status equal to that of Albert Einstein in the field of physics, but when it came to his personal field of diesel-automata physics he was in a league of his own.

He lowered his coffee cup to the table and raised his head from reading the paper as Burk ran over to him. He stopped short of the table and had to regain his breath. Curious, Walsh asked calmly, "Good God Ed what's the rush? You look as if the Commies or Nazis are at our doorstep."

Wiping sweat from his forehead Walsh struggled to get words out of his mouth, "It...might...have something to do with...that...doctor..."

"Would Mr. Burk want some coffee?""

The female voice had a mechanical sound to it but nonetheless sweet to the ears. Burk turned and saw that what looked like a tall woman with white porcelain skin apprach from the kitchen with a tray in her mechanical looking hands. Her face was the only thing that had the desired appearance of a woman in her early twenties. The rest of her was that of the automata that she had been born off. Her limbs had little gears running without stop and she was wearing a dress that looked like it was made out of sheets of iron and a white bodice on the top. The center of her chest was a heart shaped hole that had a pulsing, glowing red light emanating from within her chest.

"Dahl? You're up and going this early?"

The female automata had long grey hair, an unintentional by product when she was activated (she was meant to be blonde but a glitch occurred and it was too late to change it). She took her duties as house lady with pride and offered a cup to the beleaguered employee. "Yes sir, I am, and ready to serve you and Dr. Walsh to your expectations."

Burk took the coffee without hesitation, "Thank you..." he took a drink of the coffee and from there he wished he hadn't. He spit out the liquid into his lap. "Too sour!"

Dahl seemed hurt, "I apologize, sir."

Walsh shook his head. He should have warned him that Dahl's coffee making left much to be desired, just like the rest of her duties as a housewife model. She had already proven less than useful when it came to making toast or even doing the laundry. Anyway he folded the paper and set it on the table. "What's going on, Burk?"

"There's some sort of beast terrorizing the suburb of Black Berry. Police are saying its a tall human shaped creature and that it refuses to acknowledge them, and is impervious to their weapons."

"Huh...might be some sort of model created by the Nazis then, they have evolved in their attempts to create their own automatons. The Soviets have no interest in the field as much as the Germans..."

"Well, the coppers want something done to help them and urgently. We could send in Jackhammer and Shutterbug to help."

Walsh thought for a moment, leaving Burk hanging as he waited for his response. Would they release the two experimental automatons into the field to deal with the threat?

Instead the doctor turned to the stone faced female automaton standing at his side. "Dahl, prepare another kettle of coffee and meet me in the war room. Try and sweeten the next batch as well, please."

The female robot nodded and went about her business and Walsh felt his spirit soar as the doctor stood up from his chair and addressed him. "Burk, go wake up Jack and 'Bug. It's time to go to work."

Burk's feet moved faster than he could process the action through his brain and yet he managed to run to the basement of the house and went to work.

The police of Blackberry were always given the short end of the stick. The city of over six million was a hotbed for questionable activity, whether it was attempted revolutionists trying to stir up trouble for Communism or Nazism or whatever bull they wanted to replace American Democracy with.

Yet until today they thought they had seen it all.

Not until a giant suit of bone looking armor walked through main street and started destroying things did they think otherwise. Hurling cars like toys into shops and blasting what could only be described as energy blasts from the palm of its hands to cause explosions. The police backed off after their own cars were destroyed.

Main street was deserted within minutes of the carnage beginning and the one who caused it remained in the center of the street when something peculiar landed down the street.

A small green bot the size of a toddler and that looked curiously like a child's drawing of a bug flew around a blue metal figure. The sound of a whirring diesel engine, powered by a small power core inside its body, powered its little jet propulsion system to keep it flying in the air. It's voice had an accent that sounded like it was from southern Georgia. "Nice landin' there, Jack."

The blue figure next to it was made of metal, slimmed down for maneuverability but nonetheless it was thick enough to provide protection for the bot. His armor was supposedly designed after a European knight (propaganda had painted him as America's knight in shining armor), though the hole in his chest that contained his power core glowed red. Then, as a bit of identification he had a badge of the American flag on the left side of his chest and, personally requested by Jack himself, an American flag was turned into a cape that was draped down his back. The eight foot tall automaton looked around for his quarry before seeing the white figure just down the street. "He's big."

Shutterbug noticed it as well. "Damn, the reports were not jokin' about the destruction it caused either." He flew behind his partner and whispered into its ear. Figuratively speaking, that is. "How are we going to proceed?"

Raising his right arm, which went from a hand to a multiple barreled gun turret, Jackhammer looked down at the tall white figure just down the street. It hadn't moved an inch since the two bots had arrived, which was a bit discerning.

Still, confidence was in Jack's voice a she spoke. "We take it into custody, to ensure the citizen's welfare, it must be stopped."

'Bug liked the sound of that. "Got it. Stickin' to protocol nine: advise and observe."

While the two bots finished talking strategy, the tall figure was making plans of its own. Inside its brain it had only one objective, and since it had found what it was looking for, there was only one thing left for it to do.

"TARGET FOUND. BEGINNING RETRIEVAL FOR MISSION COMPLETION."


	17. Mafia Son

Chicago, Illinois

1933

"Boss, we're here."

Having dozed off the moment he left the mansion, Lunaire Nottur had to rustle himself awake from his extremely short nap. The mob son, dressed in a black Armani suit with only a gold tie to add color to his appearance, his naturally spiky black hair and stern expression made him look slightly intimidating despite being just shy of twenty years old.

He had to be serious though, as his upcoming meeting was going to be a doozy, to say the least.

Sitting up straight in the backseat of his father's Bentley Lunaire straightened his jacket and fixed his tie. "I assume my guest is already waiting?"

"Guests, sir," corrected a short haired blonde woman in a black suit of her own. "Twin ladies sent by Richie Pericotti."

Lunaire sighed, "Another peace offering, no doubt." The young man reached into the pocket of his jacket and felt a metal object the size of a hockey puck but much heavier weighing him down. He also found what he was looking for next to it, which happened to be a mint candy. He wasn't looking forward to this meeting arranged by Pericotti but he decided to humor the pudgy bastard for once.

The woman in the passenger's seat spoke, "Not a fan of Mr Pericotti, sir?"

The big man who was driving the car, Gunnar, cleared his throat as the car came to a stop in front of the Nottur family restaurant. Well, one of them in the Windy City, that is. There were at least three others around town but the one that Lunaire had chosen was his favorite for very personal reasons.

The car engine was left on as Gunnar got out of the car first followed by Astrid who ended up opening Lunaire's door for him. The weather tonight was cold but the young man wasn't feeling it. He had enough fortitude to where it wouldn't bother him.

Lunaire got out of the car and Astrid closed the door behind him. "So boss, how are we going to proceed tonight?"

That was a usual question given by the rookie bodyguard for the mob son. He cleared his throat. "Since this is just a courtesy call I don't expect it to not take very long. Both of you can stay out here until I am ready to leave."

"You sure, Lunaire? Stuff can happen when you least expect it."

Gunnar's concern was well intended. Being in his position Lunaire had a great share of enemies and many didn't waste the chance to try and pop his head off.

Yet Lunaire was fearless and felt that showing he wasn't afraid would cause his enemies to think twice about trying to kill him. Still if that alone didn't persuade them from testing the dangerous waters, he always had his secret weapon. "I'll handle this one tonight. Just make sure my getaway is ready in case shit hits the fan, capice?"

Gunnar gave his boss a thumbs up and leaned his massive frame on the passenger's door. Astrid nodded once, knowing that arguing with her boss was a lost cause to begin with and so she didn't see a point in trying.

"We'll be here, boss. Have a good time," was all she needed to say.

Lunaire took for the door in a walk that exuded a show of arrogance, to let people know not to mess with him as he made his way to his favorite table. There, in a far off corner of the dinning room, was a small white table with two gorgeous looking brunettes sitting at it. They noticed the young man approach and both brought fake smiles to their faces. The kind where they didn't want to be there and were probably forced at gun point to do so. That was not a figure of speech either.

Still, Lunaire knew that they were meant more as a gesture than a literal peace deal. He could play that game tit for tat as he put on a fake smile of his own. "Ladies, sorry if I am late."

As he took a seat, the two women exchanged playful glances. The taller of the two who wore a gold loose fitting cocktail dress. Her sister wore one similar such dress but it only covered enough to hide whatever she didn't want to hide. "That is fine, Mr. Nottur. Thank you for some of your precious time for us."

"Time is what I have for the sake of my family," he called for someone to serve him champagne, fresh from the wine cellar. Part of his father's private collection. "So, let's talk-"

For a moment Lunaire thought he had seen a glint shine off one of the woman, but he quickly realized that was not the case. The same shine came from beyond the window the two women sat in front of.

Then as he tried to figure out what was going on, he gasped. "Look out!"

That was when a crash shook the entire room if not the building. The window crashed, sending glass flying as a large white object came through and drove through the twins and the table like a freight train. It would have taken Lunaire as well but in a life of dodging hits and bullets he reflexively moved out of the way just in time.

All hell broke loose after that with people screaming for their lives, and fire alarms blaring. Despite avoiding the collision Lunaire was still knocked for a loop and was sprawled out on the carpet trying to gather himself. His black jacket had been torn on his left shoulder but otherwise he was unharmed. The twins hadn't been so lucky, as both of them were lying broken and dead against a nearby wall. Lunaire grimaced, feeling a bit unnerved at their deaths.

"The hell was that?" He looked up and saw what turned out to be a tall human shaped something standing over him. It looked like a set of living armor made of bone and looked intimidating.

Turning its head the armor peered down at Lunaire and its eyes flashed bright yellow for a mere second before he took a step forward.

Then the sound of gunfire filled the air as Thompson machine guns and pistols from the employees of the restaurant opened fire on the monster. Waitresses and waiters, Donnie the Doorman from the register desk, Gunnar and Astrid after they came from outside, and even the cook got weapons and shot at the creature. Hitting it wasn't the problem but the bullets merely bounced off of its tough hide like metal.

Astrid ran out of bullets for her pistol and so went to retrieve her boss. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled. "Lunaire! Come on!"

Not wanting to ask anything, Lunaire and his two guards made it outside and he was pushed through the open door of the car. Gunnar had heard the crash before and left the door open for a quick escape.

"Gunnar get us the hell outta here!" Yelled Lunaire as Astrid climbed into the passenger seat. The big man was way ahead of his boss as he fit his massive self into the driver's seat and started the car.

No time for seat belts or anything as Gunnar got the car in gear and stomped on the gas.

He did it just in time for the monster to literally crash through the entrance to the restaurant. It seemed to be in a mad dash after the trio.

Lunaire took off his torn jacket and tie as Astrid tried to reload her pistol with shaking hands, as well as trying to look out the back window to see the monster far down the street. "Damn it..."

Astrid finished putting the bullets in her pistol and tried to gather her composure. Needless to say everything had happened so fast that she was having trouble processing it all.

They bobbed and weaved past other cars and pedestrians at over forty miles an hour. Lunaire took the metal puck out of his jacket pocket and held it in his right hand. 'I might have to end up using this after all...though not in the way I expected it to.' The mob son turned to look out the back window.

He was shocked to see the monster running after them. Going like a marathon runner on the Olympics track, it easily got within arm's reach of the car! 'That thing is fast!'

Before he could even figure out what to do next the thing managed to hop onto the car. Punching a massive fist through the leather canopy of the Bentley before tearing a large hole in it.

Astrid fired her gun at point blank range to defend her boss and was shouting in adrenaline fueled rage.

Then a long sharp blade went through its chest, courtesy of Lunaire. The metal puck he had been holding onto had changed into the blade, and it was thanks to the special ability of the Nottur family that he was able to fight back.

Never before have I been so glad to do metal morphing, thought Lunaire as he heard the creature groan as if in pain.

But that was only just for a moment before the creature grabbed Lunaire by the shoulder and lifted him out of the car.

Lunaire heard Astrid shout his name before Gunnar did the same. He was too focused on the metal sword stuck into the beast's chest. He grabbed onto the handle and twisted it, forcing as much of his own strength into it. It worked to where he pushed it off balance and both of them fell off the speeding car.

They crashed and rolled down the street, but it didn't go too well for Lunaire as he was held to the ground by one of its massive hands once they stopped.

Being pressed down to the ground, unable to move, Lunaire saw the creature pull back its other massive fist, ready to deliver a killing blow. Lunaire stretched out his arms as if asking for his demise.

Yet that was not what happened. Concentrating his mind into the far sides of the street he managed to pull metal from the man hole cover, cars lining the streets and even the fronts of shops. Anything that had a sizable amount of metal was pulled towards the two as if by a strong magnet when he brought his arms together. That wasn't all that happened though as before they reached their target all the pieces sharpened to a point so they easily pierced the armor of the creature when they flew into it.

The sudden piercing made it lose its grip on Lunaire and he scurried from under it and got to his feet.

"Never mess with me, sucker," said the boss as he pulled his sword from the monster. He morphed it back into the puck it had originally been. He hated using this power so unconventionally but desperate times you know.

He heard the screeching of tires as the Bentley came to a stop behind him. Gunnar got out of the car while Astrid was out before it came to a halt. "Boss! you alright?" She held out her pistol, still in a shaky hand, but Lunaire didn't blame her. She saw the pin cushion the monster had become and had a look of shock and uncertainty. She knew Lunaire could do this but it was rare she had seen it for herself.

Gunnar got a Thompson out and the safety was surely off. "That thing dead?"

Dusting off his sleeves Lunaire approached the creature. It hadn't moved since his last attack. "I hope so-" He raised his hand towards its head to find out-then he drew his hand back when the thing flinched. Astrid and Gunnar raised their weapons, but with their boss directly in front of them they didn't pull the trigger. Yet.

"TAR...GET...FOUND..."

'Target? Did that mean me?' Lunaire saw a white light beginning to pulsate in its chest, right where a gash was from where he had stabbed it earlier. Something in his chest feared what was going to happen next.

"BEGIN...TRANS...FER-"

Gasping as a level of fear suddenly overcame him Lunaire turned back to his guards, "Get back-"

They fell back as the light grew to a point where it was blinding. It was like the sun exploded even though it was the dead of night. The light blinded the guards and they stumbled backward.

Lunaire brought his arm up to cover his eyes, and then the world went white.

And when the light dissipated, both the mob son and the monster had vanished as if into thin air.


	18. Bounty Hunter

Lowtowne beneath Babel Tower

The dirt streets that lined Lowtowne were deserted and for good reason. A tall white figure that seemed to be made of armor that resembled bone stood just outside the Black Diamond saloon. It was three meters tall at most and towered aver everything around it. Muscles were etched into its surface making its appearance more intimidating.

Still, the stranger just down the road stood undaunted, but had his hands on the triple barreled pistols in the holsters on his hips just in case. Dressed from head to toe in brown dirty clothes He knew trouble was just around the corner the moment he and whatever the hell that thing is had locked eyes.

On the deck of the saloon, hiding behind one of the posts and watching with anticipation was a young woman in a simple white and brown dress. She was the lone waitress of the saloon. Her name was Wendi and she had originally come out to greet man in brown but had stopped when he hadn't greeted her. That was something he never failed to do, especially when it was a friend. She would have asked if there was anything wrong but she quickly noticed the being in white down the road near the gun store. She had never seen anything like that before.

'Maybe it was something from the High Society?' thought the woman as she moved her eyes to look at the tall tower slightly off in the distance. While the poor and downtrodden lived in poverty in Lowtowne the rich and powerful squandered themselves silly in the tower known as Babel. Strange things ended up coming to Lowtowne from the tower every once in awhile so this wasn't totally unusual, but this...this felt different to Wendi.

The brunette dandy could only continue to guess as she saw her friend and usual customer known only by the name Wynter stand in the road.

Remaining still as a rock with his finger tips lightly touching his firearms, Wynter kept his calm. In the shade under his wide brimmed traveler's hat (more akin to a cowboy hat) his eyes stared straight ahead. The lower half of his face was covered with a dark handkerchief and made it somewhat hard to breathe but he didn't let that cloud his mind. All his years of being a bounty hunter he had learned to control himself under levels of stress. It was one of many lessons he had taught himself to survive on the Frontier.

Still, curiosity kept his brain moving with thoughts.

'What matter of man or monster could this be? No, more importantly, why is it eyeballing me?'

Moments of tense stillness went by, and neither Wynter nor the creature moved. The creature had a bright white light in its chest that was pulsing like a heartbeat. The bounty hunter's eyes were drawn to it, already deciding to make that his primary target. Would it bring down the monster, he didn't know.

But it would be worth a shot, no pun intended.

He blinked once and felt the wind change direction, moving the length of the brown duster to the north.

In the breadth of that motion the monster moved. Launching itself from its starting spot it moved like it was shot out of a cannon. Its massive right fist was drawn back as it approached Wynter whose arms remained at his sides.

Wendi gasped and prepared to call his name-

-and then six shots were fired off in quick succession. Hitting their intended targets: two in each shoulder and two in the monster's forehead. That was to halt its momentum and leave it open for his next shot. Without moving from his spot Wynter charged the power core in his pistols and fired two shotgun like slugs directly into the middle of its chest at point blank range. A green colored shock wave was created in the explosive contact. The sound of the shot could be heard for miles beyond Lowtowne and was deafening to those who were close. Even Wendi had to cover her ears out of fear of losing her hearing.

The monster was sent flying back and landed a dozen or so feet from Wynter, seven good sized holes in its body that were letting out smoke. The light in its chest was out, no longer glowing.

Still, Wynter kept his guard up. He approached the prone body, pistols still drawn, tapping the bottom of one of its feet to see if it would move. It was like he had kicked granite.

'What is this thing made of...?'

He got closer to the upper body and leaned over it. His seven shots had all hit their intended mark so he would be surprised it it still lived. Yet he was dealing with something he himself had never seen before, and so he was open to anything happening.

The large hole from his combined shot had gone right into the core. It appeared to be damaged-

-the hunter felt the creature's hand grab a hold of his ankle in a vice like grip and he fired once again into its chest on reflex. The grip loosened before going slack.

Wynter kept his composure. He had been taken off guard and that was rare. "Bastard..."

Then he saw the light faintly beginning to pulse in the monster's chest again. He prepared his pistol for another shot, but was stopped when he heard a voice speaking. Mechanical, like those of the High Society drones, spoke into the still desert air. "TARGET FOUND...BEGINNING TRANSFER-"

Then the light flashed brightly, temporarily blinding anyone who saw it. Wynter had put his arm up to cover his eyes-

-and when he was able to overcome the light, he realized he was no longer in Lowtowne.


	19. Alien Soldier

July 30th

Battle of New York, Day 14

The battle to take back Manhattan had turned into a nightmare.

Enemy forces had already put a strangle hold on the Big Apple and were not letting go of it no matter how hard the United States military fought for it.

Still, the Marine Corps never gave up, especially when the battlefield was their home turf.

Three dozen marines moved along what was originally Times Square, taking cover behind anything that could protect them. They held their line as the next wave of enemy soldiers came at them.

From where Lt. Daniel Wallace was, his men were not in a good spot to begin with. Though his group had been multiplied ten fold since the last engagement he knew he was still out manned.

The Lt. took cover behind an over turned Greyhound bus with three others, including a Marine Sgt. Dalverny and his comrades Sgt. Jensen and Pvt. Reitz. All three of them looked shaken but the fact that they remained in the field of battle was encouraging to the Lt.

"Give me a sit-rep, Sergeant Dalverny," said Wallace, keeping his M27 IAR ready to fire at a moments notice.

"Time's Square is still under Plague control. We've been fighting them for the last thirty-six hours straight. It's back and forth in possession. We take the Square, an hour later they take it back."

Looking around Wallace saw that there were bodies of Marines, civilians, and even those of the Plague all around them. The Plague were the enemy. Extraterrestrials from another planet far beyond Earth and had set their sights on the planet for some as of yet unknown purpose. Beings over eight feet tall, clad in dark blue crudely made armor, and extremely powerful and dangerous. Armed with rifles that shot plasma energy as well as smaller pistol like weapons. They moved like a tidal wave and fought with tenacity and recklessness all to destroy their enemy. Wallace knew from briefings that the Plague were to be killed and they did not grant mercy to anything.

Such a merciless foe, not to mention one being alien, made the normally brave Marines shiver in slight unease.

Luckily for the humans, this was not a war they were fighting alone.

"Any good news to share in the meantime?" asked Wallace.

Dalverny nodded to Jensen and Reitz and they left the two soldiers alone. Confidential material was about to be shared, no unnecessary ears needed.

"Reinforcements came in late last night. Amazons of the Boudicca Army, nearly a dozen of them as a first wave. They surveyed the area before adding more units to their line. They took over for us and allowed us to fall back to rest."

This made Wallace smirk slightly. Hearing of the Amazons was always a booster to his war weary self. "Is that so?"

Dalverny nodded, "Their translator told us their commander would be arriving from Grand Central terminal to speak with you in person."

"Why me?"

Dalverny shrugged his shoulders, "No idea, Lt. But she-"

Shots were fired, signaling the end of the silence in the Square.

"Contact! Get to cover!" Yelled Wallace as he and Dalverny took positions behind the bus.

Blue beams of plasma energy started to fly over the Marines. Hitting cars and the ground. Some shots ricochet off the surfaces, making finding adequate cover tougher than usual.

Immediately after the firing started two Marines went down, both wounded in the legs. A medic was nearby and began to attend to them.

Wallace, already familiar with the way this enemy fought, called over to the Marines beginning to file in around his position. "Fan out! Pair up in a thirty meter spread! Check targets and leave none alive! Move on me when called! Oorah!"

A collective and not to mention enthusiastic 'oorah' was heard as the Marines took to following their orders.

It didn't take long for the enemy to show itself to the jar heads. The Plague were notoriously reckless in terms of self-preservation. No taking cover, using their own as shields just to get closer, and devoid of fear. Like the suicidal banzai charges of an older war they didn't care how many of their own died if it meant washing over their foes and wiping them out.

Wallace himself took down three Plague within the first few seconds of the fire fight starting.

"Dalverny on me! Everyone else move forward!" Wallace ran forward with the Sgt. close behind, stopping only to take out a few more enemy soldiers before resuming his charge. The rest of the unit moved along like a line and began to push back, not letting up on their fire.

Small explosions from grenades and under barrel grenade launchers helped the Marines along and under immense fire power the Plague were forced to stop in their advance. That didn't mean they were just sitting and waiting. They kept up the pressure and the Marines were forced to stop as soon as their charge ran out of steam. Defensive positions were taken and the back and forth of firing commenced. Shouting was heard from the Marines as they took down any and all who came at them.

Wallace and Dalverny were soon joined by Jensen and Reitz. Reitz had lost his helmet in the fire fight a moment before. Jensen had taken a shot to the leg but was still going strong.

Reitz took a spare helmet from the ground and put it on. "Sir, the Plague have been halted on our flanks but we can't move forward."

"Anything about reinforcements?"

Before he could be answered a collection of explosions rattled their position. It wasn't something the foot soldiers could have done on their own either...

Then Wallace heard something he didn't want to hear.

"Tripod!"

Peeking over the rubble he had been taking cover behind, the Marine saw the monstrosity. A dozen feet tall, with three tentacle like legs was a shell on top with a single blue eye. Two smaller and shorter tentacles were just under the shell and firing small lasers at the Marines.

Tripods were the Plague's answer to entrenched enemy positions and like a tank they could plow through unarmored units in minutes.

There was only one order the Marine could give, and he hated giving it. "Fall back!"

Without hesitation, and with explosions and blue plasma at their heels, the two dozen or so Marines that were left fell back. They didn't stop running until they reached their starting points or further.

"Dammit, we need air support!" called Dalverny.

But Wallace knew that wasn't going to happen. Tripods were not just tanks but walking anti-air units as well. Not only were they efficient they were insanely accurate. Any air assult would be halted by a single one. Not only that but being in Times Square it was too enclosed. Air support wouldn't be much use anyway. The only good side of dealing with them was the were like a horse with blinders; almost blind on the sides and so no sudden movements and they could be avoided.

The Marines were trapped and sitting ducks.

"Reinforcements!"

A Marine from their flank called out and Wallace heard it. Yet as he sat there waiting for the enemy to run him and his men over, the Marine smiled as he saw a dozen pink humanoids hustling towards the Marines. Slender pink and white armor covered the new arrivals from head to toe, their faces protected by baby blue colored visors and 'horns' on each of their temples. The most outstanding feature they had were their apparent female forms. Wide hips and ample chests giving that away.

The Amazons had arrived and Wallace breathed a sigh of relief.

Armed with what looked like green and red rifles that fired red energy in endless fire the Amazons took up forward positions in front of the Marines and started to take the fight to their bitter enemies.

Three Amazons came to join Wallace and his men. Standing at six feet tall in their six inch heeled boots they were almost taller than the human men. The first soldier had armor that was slightly different in looks but kept the same color scheme.

She spoke in perfect English, clear and precise. "Lt. Daniel Wallace of the United States Marine Corps, I presume?"

Wallace nodded and saluted. "I am."

The woman motioned for the two soldiers behind her to join the fight in the front. Then she removed her helmet. Shoulder length neon pink hair came out like a small waterfall and framed her slender face. Her skin was hot pink, her lips hot pink. Her eyes were full on baby blue without pupils or irises. She also appeared to be young, late teens or early twenties in human terms.

Wallace recognized this particular Amazon. "Commander Yelila."

These two had met soon after the invasion began, Yelila having saved Wallace's life in an attack on Wall Street. They hadn't really seen each other since.

"Heard back up was urgently requested in this sector," she said stoically. "Give me an update."

Right to the point, just the way these soldiers wanted it. No casual talk in a battlefield.

"Times Square is a hot zone and HQ wants it secured. We got a Tripod causing us problems but we can't get air support in to help," Wallace explained.

Yelila took a peek around the edge of the bus, and noticed the Tripod sweeping the area with laser fire.

Yet the female commander was analyzing the situation, having experienced this type of attack unit many times before. "Sizable damage to its underbelly will destabilize the unit, allowing for destruction and saving of lives."

Wallace nodded but he had his doubts. "I don't think we can just walk up to it and give it a belly rub."

Yelila had that figured out already. "My sisters will know how to handle this. Provide them with cover fire, and I shall dispose of the Tripod myself."

Wallace didn't feel the need to ask how. He had to accept that she knew what she was doing and grabbed his radio. "All units, provide immediate support to all Amazons. Do as they say and we will take down the Tripod."

He took position opposite Yelila as she put her helmet back on. He waited for her signal; which was a second later as she turned the corner and ran towards the enemy.

Gears clicked and like a machine the Amazons took down all soldiers in their way with the Marines providing back up as ordered. Yelila didn't let up in her single minded pursuit of ending her enemy. Even when the enemy soldiers got in her way she shot them all down with quick and precise fire before moving on.

The Tripod eventually saw her, but by the time it had managed to lock onto the commander it was too late. She was already too close for it to fire which left it wide open for what happened next. As she ran underneath the tank Yelila went into a slide and shot her rifle in its exposed underbelly and as it turned out its unprotected power core. The resulting shots caused it to overheat and explode in a blinding blue flash.

Wallace saw the whole thing go down and he couldn't believe it. But eventually he forced himself to get over the amazing display and call over his radio. "Advance! Wipe them out!"

The Marines moved onward, losing a couple of their own but taking out the larger force with great effort. While this was going on the Amazons were either moving alongside them or, as part of a greater plan, cutting off the Plague's potential retreat by attacking from the rear. The initial assault by the Plague had been turned into a rout by the combined human and Amazon forces. In minutes the Plague forces were all wiped out.

Eventually the only sound going through the Square were the sounds of the Marines giving out orders and the Amazons doing the same. Wallace went to the wreckage of the fallen Tripod, rifle held in tight hands.

He was soon joined by the leader of the Amazons. Yelila's armor was scratched and dirty but she was in one piece as she approached the Marine. The other Marines in the immediate area watched her with admiration and respect, with just a bit of uncertainty.

"Update?"

Relaxing just a little bit from all that had happened, Wallace spoke. "Marines are reporting the Plague forces moving north, almost like they are abandoning the island of Manhattan. We're to help secure this end before moving to push them back."

Removing her helmet Yelila called for a couple of her soldiers, one of which was badly wounded in the left shoulder but was still answering her call. She spoke to them in what Wallace assumed was their language and they moved ahead. As far as he knew Yelila was the only one who spoke English and understood the language.

"I told them to provide support in the push to take back the island," she answered his questioning expression. Her own expression remained still, almost unmoved, before she started to walk away.

Wallace joined her at her side. "Thanks for the assist, Commander."

"You can thank me when we eradicate the Plague from this planet, Lt. I am sure you want to do the same, since this is your home planet, no?"

"Indeed, ma'am," said the Marine who couldn't help but smirk.

On a rooftop overlooking the Square, out of sight or either human or Amazon, was a lone white armored figure. It had seen the whole battle unfold and had been watching the players in particular the woman known as Yelila.

In its mind, which was single minded in its pursuit to complete the mission it has set itself on.

And it had completed that mission by finding the Amazon Commander.

"TARGET FOUND. COMMENCING RETRIEVAL AND TRANSPORT."


	20. Fire and Ice

Village of Embera

Northern Tundra Frontier

A village near a frozen lake. A normal idea, but in the snow covered Tundra it was never that simple.

The underground village of Embera, home to four hundred Sub-Terrans (people who were born underground and thus could not thrive in the cold world above) had been laid to utter waste.

Multiple houses and buildings had been set ablaze, the town's cauldron (that which heated the area to where the villagers could live there), had been shattered by a raiding party of men. Nomads were braved the surface to satisfy their greed by destroying the towns they came across.

Nearly dozen men clad in black armor and fur carrying axes, their horses wondering the area unattended, were already finishing up on the amount of food and drink they could salvage from the ruins of the town whose name as well as place in the world had been wiped from existence.

Bodies of several villagers littered the ground yet not one of the marauders shared their grave. The people had been slaughter. Men, women, and children. There had been no discrimination.

A building on the edge of the town, modeled as a place of worship to the Forger (God of Fire and warmth as well as compassion) and that is where the villagers who had surrendered had been forced together by order of the raiders.

The people thought that by complying, their lives would be spared.

Yet, the men who held them hostage stood outside they all carried freshly lit torches, while a couple others of their number either poured flammable oil on the walls or boarded up the doors and windows.

They didn't intend to leave any survivors of their latest foray.

The men all gathered together after their grisly task was complete and waited for their leader to finish the job. "Time to let them go to their benevolent idol," said the man, a heavily bearded muscular brute with a great axe strapped to his back.

He tossed the torch toward the building-

-only for it to be shot out of the air, landing in the dirt many meters away with an arrow jabbed into it.

The men turned abruptly towards the slope that led to the Tundra surface. There they saw two figures. One was in clad in ash grey armor from head to toe with a matching cape with white fur trim. He held a small shield in his left hand and a short sword in his metal hand. Short slick raven black hair was combed back upon his head. Next to him was a woman with fair skin and short silver hair, not to mention light violet eyes on her beautiful face. She was dressed in an armored long sleeved blue leotard that exposed her chest with a v-shaped opening. Metal leggings covered her long legs from the knees down. Her red robe was bright with white fur trim. Yet what was easily identifiable were her ears, which were long and pointed unlike a Subterran's.

Since the woman was holding a bow the leader of the raiders guessed she was the one who had sent that arrow flying. Such a shot she had made from that distance was impressive. He also noted that she had a rapier styled sword strapped to her left hip.

"Who might you two be?"

The man tilted his head slightly as if embarrassed by the question. "No one of importance, friend, yet I guess you could say we are mere passersby asking why you are burning a village down."

The group of men laughed. Their leader did too with a guttural chuckle. "I think not, boy. Anyone armed as you are could never be considered as mere common travelers." The big man eyed the woman especially, no doubt asking with his eyes why she looked so unusual. Not to mention he gave her a lewd look that didn't go unnoticed. "Especially when you have a sure shot such as 'er. You could have taken me throat off, wench."

The woman raised her bow, a beautiful silver long bow that was taller than she was but was expertly handled. She aimed another arrow. "Speak more and I shall be tempted to not miss again."

"Icyln, please," said the young man. He then turned to the raiders. "I am Gladius Astaren of the Karst Guard. This here is my partner Icyln of the Frozen Ranger Brigade."

The raiders all exchanged awestruck looks and even words of shock.

"You're with a Frostian?"

"you're mad man!"

"she'll turn you to ice without a second thought!"

Gladius merely shrugged off their words. He wasn't afraid of what they were implying. "I wouldn't worry about my partner or the fact that she is an ice elf. You should be more worried about what we will do to you if you don't surrender."

The men forgot their fear and trepidation for a moment and laughed again.

"We waste time."

Iclyn's words pierced the air like one of her arrows, and she didn't hide her annoyance. She fired her arrow and it pierced the lead marauder's forehead mid laugh.

Death was instantaneous and he fell backward like a tree, landing with a heavy thud in the dirt.

This time the men stood stock still, unable to even breathe as they couldn't figure out what to do next.

Gladius sighed and shook his head. Might as well make the best of this before it got bloodier. "See? My partner is a sure shot when angered. Please do not make her angry again."

The end result was pretty much a foregone conclusion by that point. With their leader dead and the fact that they would have to cross blades with a Frostian in their minds, the rest of the men laid down their arms and fled to the exit slope of the village.

"I could shoot them as they flee."

Once again Gladius had to urge her to not do so. "You made your point quite clear. Come on, help me with the villagers."

"Very well," she said coldly.

Iclyn was still as cold as ice, as her namesake went, though Gladius knew she wasn't always like that. Just in the face of people she didn't trust.

As the fire knight went to open up the church and free the villagers, Iclyn went to inspect the area for any more potential trouble.

As they went about their duties ensuring the relative peace of the Tundra and all life within it, the two knights didn't know that they were being watched by a stranger from a realm not shared with either of them.

This being watched them, memorizing and analyzing their moves and their techniques (of what was shown and what wasn't), before deciding to make its move.

It's mission depended on its success.


	21. Guardian of the Fey

Ireland

It was Friday and school was out for Aoife and she was grateful for it. she couldn't wait to get home and for the weekend to get started. The Irish teenager, dressed in her school uniform consisting of a dark green skirt and white shirt complete with white knee high socks, she was ready to get home and have her fun.

Yet as she felt her excitement build ever slightly with each step she took towards home, eventually a revelation brought all that excitement to a complete stop with her feet at a stop light.

"darn...I have to do chores when I get home first. That is, after I do my homework-" she gave an exasperated sigh. Why has her life have to be so full of disappointment?

"You're talking about homework?"

The voice of a boy behind her made the teenager yelp before she spun around and found herself looking up into a familiar face. He wore the boys uniform of the same school Aoife went to but it wasn't as tidy as it should have been. His uniform was ruggedly worn with the shirt not tucked in and his tie not tight with his jacket unbuttoned and his reddish brown hair disheveled. Had her mother been alive and he was her son Aoife was sure she wouldn't have let him leave the house like that.

Grey eyes looked down at Aoife with a side of annoyance. "You and homework are like water and oil-"

Aoife tapped the center of his forehead with her finger. Her tone was sarcastic and unapologetic. "I'm so close to getting home and yet you couldn't wait to nag me until I got there? Thanks, Tine."

The young man sighed and shooed her hand away. "Beg your pardon, your majesty but I was sent to check in on you by Ishka. He saw you leave in a hurry and made me chase after you."

Aoife couldn't believe her ears. 'I told him I don't need him or the others following me around constantly!'

Ishka was Aoife's homeroom teacher (which was not by accident) and was a friend of Tine's. Ever since those two arrived at the school they were the talk of the entire building among others. It was much more of a headache an wasn't necessary, even though Tine told her more than once that he didn't have a choice in the matter to begin with.

'Inherit the powers of a fairy queen and you get her guardians in the deal...what a sad situation,' she thought, remembering what had happened to get herself put into this situation in the first place.

The light turned from red to green and Aoife started to cross the street. Tine didn't waste any time in following her, hands in his pockets and annoyed. "So, you're heading home to do your normal human stuff?"

"Chores, homework, watch television. Probably in that order," answered Aoife, already having her mind set on the path she was going to walk. Her stubbornness was one of her admirable traits, and it was something her friends and family both liked and loathed about her.

"Your life isn't very exciting."

"It used to be normal, but thanks to you guys its never gonna be like that again."

"Don't you mean when you found our queen?"

Aoife turned red in the face and hushed him. "Thought we agreed to not talk about that in public!?"

Tine rolled his eyes, "Ishka promised you that. None of the rest of us agreed to that deal."

The girl backed up and narrowed her eyes. "You're such a jerk, you know that?"

"And you're a prissy brat. I cant believe a human such as you inherited our queen's power..." he grumbled.

"It's not like I wanted any of this. It just happened and I was along for the ride whether I wanted it or not..." Aoife said, remembering how she found a dying fairy in the school's garden and by some stroke of luck ended up being 'blessed' with her power. That was done, according to Ishka, to safeguard it from falling into the hands of some being named Balor. He was infamously known as the Demon King and bitter enemy of the fairies.

That sounded like the plot of an old Saturday morning cartoon show to Aoife. Yet the crazy thing was it was real, and the weirdest part was she was supposed to be the hero in this tale! Her! A fifteen year old girl with four annoying-albeit handsome-boys as her protectors and confidants! And they were fairies as well!

Reaching the other side of the street Aoife raised her chin to the sky, maybe thinking that the deceased queen of the fairies would return to her and take her out of this situation that she was so reluctant to take part in...

"Hey you guys!"

Yet it was not to be. Aoife and Tine heard the voice call out to them from behind. The light had turned back to red as a short raven haired boy in the same uniform as Tine ran through oncoming traffic in order to reach the other side. He was out of breath and had to lean on his knees to gather himself.

Tine didn't give him that room to breathe, as he was a bit upset over what had happened. "You know if you'd been hit by a car, Quilo you'd be like a bug on that windshield, you dolt!"

Aoife was a bit more sympathetic, "He's okay though so take it easy Tine. What's wrong Quilo?"

Standing back up straight the young man, who was the same age as Tine, wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Ishka had me look for you, Aoife."

Blinking once, Aoife asked, "What's wrong?" The girl had a sneaky feeling she wasn't going to like the answer and braced herself.

"Ishka and Gail were in town talking when out of nowhere-boom!-a monster showed up and started to cause a ruckus! They told me to go get you so we could take care of it."

'A monster...' the girl's heart sank. "A real monster? But I don't-"

"Please, you must come. Innocent people are bound to get hurt other wise."

Though she had been dead set on saying no out of pure fear, the moment she heard that people would more than likely harmed and she would make it worse by refusing, Aoife's heart regained its fortitude and her resolve hardened. "Alright then. Lead us to them."

Quilo smiled, happy to hear her response. "Right, we'll have to run back-"

"Forget that," said Tine as he put his hand on Quilo and Aoife's shoulders and-with a quick burst of magic that was literally blink and you'll miss it-teleported away.

In the village nearby, cars were piled up like toys and buildings were being blown to pieces. Civilians had long gone from the area once things had gone downhill, save for two. Both were young men, one was in the school uniform and wore thin rimmed glasses while the other wore a business a black suit and tie.

"So Ishka, you think that thing is one of the Demon King's minions?" asked the teenager named Gail.

The young man he had been talking to was the defacto 'leader' that he answered to on a daily basis. Short black hair and green eyes on a handsome face normally had a smile on it but Ishka was concentrating.

The monster they were hiding from was in the center square, having just destroyed the water fountain there and a huge geyser was shooting water high into the air. It came down like rain on the immediate area, but the creature was unfazed by it. Standing at three meters tall and clad in white bone like armor it looked like a fearsome knight of ancient times. Not very different from what the fairies considered their enemies.

Yet as the experienced fey warrior continued his observation there was somethign he couldn't quite put down that bothered him. This monster, while familiar was also extremely different and bizarre.

POP!

The two men turned their heads at the sudden sound and saw that Aoife as well as Tine and Quilo had appeared from a teleportation spell.

"There, we got here in record time-you okay?"

The man was talking, of course, to Aoife whose face had turned a slight shade of green. No doubt she had never experienced a teleportation spell before and the side effect of major nausea was making itself known to her. She was hunched over slightly and taking big gulps of air while Quilo tended to her. While he was grateful he didn't have to run back here again, the fact that Tine did what he did made him upset.

"You reckless pup! How could you do that? Someone could have seen us! Not to mention Aoife might be sick for life-"

Tine was ignoring him, crossing his arms over his chest, "It worked, didn't it?"

Standing up at their arrival, Ishka cleared his throat. "Glad to see you all showed up on time."

Aoife thanked Quilo and tried to stand up straight. Ishka was her instructor at school and the leader of the four guardians to the Fairy Queen and, as fate would have it, now he and the others were designated as her protectors. she wasn't going to forgive Tine anytime soon for whatever he had done. Still, there were other problems to attend to. "You say there's a monster here?"

Gail remained kneeling down and peeked around the corner. He waved his hand to Aoife who stood over him and also looked around the corner. The girl audibly gasped and almost threw up in the process before ducking back. "Wow, that thing's big!"

"It's caused all sorts of damage in the last few minutes. The humans who were in this area have all fled," said Ishka. But he added something else. "At first I was certain it was sent by the Demon King. However..."

"Please don't tell me its worse than that."

Ishka shook his head, his expression troubled. "I am not one hundred percent certain, but I have the feeling that this monster is not something we have fought before."

"So what? We four guardians can handle anything," said Tine. He could say that but he hadn't seen what Aoife or even Ishka had seen.

Then Ishka turned to Aoife. "Maybe, but I think this would be the best time for Aoife to use her new power."

Aoife's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly, "W-What?"

Tine's expression was one of shock, "You're not serious, are you Ishka?"

"She's used her power once before and it worked right?"

Tine shook his head, the events of last time played out in his head like a bad movie. "She won by a fluke!"

Ishka wasn't budging. "She still won, right? She will only get better if she uses it regularly, other wise she won't get any better. Besides if she doesn't fight then-"

"I'll do it."

The girl's words broke up the argument between the guardians. Even Tine had to shut his mouth as he saw her expression turn to steel resolve.

Gail spoke up for the first time in the last few minutes, "You sure Aoife?"

Yet the girl remained steadfast. She knew what would happen if she didn't accept her role. "People will get hurt if I don't, right? I may not have wanted this but..." she sighed to calm her nerves. Images of the fallen Fairy Queen entered her mind, adding to her decision. "I won't let the queen down." She turned to the smirking Ishka. Her eyes locked with his, and they both knew there was no turning back. "Let's do this."

The monster had heard the speaking of the group nearby and finally moved towards them. Going through smoke and debris caused in its earlier rampage it saw the five standing ignoring its presence entirely.

The men stood at four directions like a compass while the girl stood in the middle. The men were chanting in a form of old Irish with a single hand extended towards the center of the circle where the girl stood. The words flew over the monster's head (even if it paid attention) and it got within arm's reach of the circle before it was suddenly forced back by a burst of warm green energy coming from the ground. On the ground appeared a symbol in gold that surrounded the girl, but she wasn't afraid as the energy began to swirl around her.

She raised her arms as the energy began to flow into her body. She could feel it begin to change her. She was gettign stronger. It was like being born again. Yet it wasn't enough. She had to say the words to complete the ritual. She did so without hesitation.

"Grant me strength to vanquish the dark! Power of Titania, Queen of Fey, flow unto me!"

A green light exploded around her and once the light vanished she had changed from a teenage girl into the Queen of the Fey.

No longer was she dressed in a school uniform. Instead she was in a dress that was in the style of a flower. The white halter top looked like it was made of flower petals and as it went further down it continued into a forest green skirt where the length was split into petal shaped ends similar to a lily. Her fore arms were wrapped in vines that resembled guards and her her feet and ankles were in the same vines that resembled short heeled shoes. Her hair was now longer and shamrock green in color. A red flower was on her left temple and the tips of her ears were pointed. Her eyes shined an other world emerald green.

As she stood looking down at herself in a transformation she had only experienced once before, Aoife felt energy surging into her being. She felt so powerful!

"Oh saint's preserve us, this is amazing!"

"Would you look at that, she actually did it," said Tine.

Aoife turned to shout at him but quickly discovered that Tine wasn't there. She also noticed that not only was Tine gone, but the other three guys were as well. "Where'd you guys go?"

Right on cue, four small lights floated at a high rate of speed to face her. The lights, colored red, blue, yellow, and green, floated in front of her. The red one was quite restless while the other three floated in place.

Aoife had a clue but couldn't believe her eyes. "Tine? Ishka? Gail and Quilo?" She raised her had to the blue light and a small flash happened and to Aoife's shock she could make out Ishka-a miniature version of him, to be exact, and he had four small wings on his back! He was wearing golden brown armor from neck to toe and the blue aura surrounded him.

"So I see Titania's power has indeed been bequeathed to you," said Ishka, with pride in his voice. "Fortunate for you, we're here to help you."

Aoife blinked a few times, her mind processing as best she could, "Uh...this is your true self?"

Flying up next to him, wrapped in a dark green aura was Gail. "Aye, this is our true forms, those of the Fey Guardians."

"But you're small-"

Tine broke into the conversation, "Never judge a book by the cover, lass! We may be small but we can knock you to the moon should we get pushed that far!"

SMACK!

Quilo had smacked Tine in the back of the head so hard the fire fairy spun forward in a circle four times.

Tine grabbed his head before turning to the yellow aura fairy. "You dolt! What was that for?!"

Clearing his throat Quilo spoke in a direct tone, "Mind your tongue, for you speak before Her Majesty Titania, Queen of Fairies." He then lowered his chin to Aoife. Ishka followed suit, as did Gail before Tine realized his place and did the same.

Aoife raised her hands, while her cheeks were turning red from embarrassment. The sudden formality from them was making her uncomfortable. "Whoa guys I'm not really the Queen-"

A crash from behind her got Aoife's attention and she turned to see a car get sent flying through the air towards her!

"Your Majesty!"

Ishka and Gail moved quickly, getting in front of Aoife and with surprising strength collided with the car and sent it flying over Aoife. It landed harmlessly in the street upside down.

The fairies, who were about as small as her hand, had super strength.

Unable to hold her excitement Aoife shouted, "That was cool!"

"Focus, Your Majesty, please," said Quilo as he floated on her left side. She perked up after that.

Then she noticed something else, and she thought it was off. She looked around her outfit, putting aside how she felt about it for now, and noticed a problem. "You guys say I am supposed to fight that monster but uh I have no weapons."

"No kidding, that's where we come in," said Tine as he floated on her right side.

"We are your shield, but we are also your sword. Use us as you see fit," said Ishka as he and Gail returned to her side.

The four fairies started to fly in circles around her, but Aoife had already gathered her courage and was ready for the fight ahead. Well, she hoped she was, anyway. 'May Titania guide me...'

As the Fey prepared for what could be the fight of their lives, the monster had already begun scanning Aoife's new form. It was beyond what it expected to find, but that was a good thing.

"SCAN COMPLETE. BEGINNING RETRIEVAL AND TRANSPORT."


	22. Warrior Prince

Astoria Castle

Night of the Ball

The main hall of the castle had been turned into a makeshift ballroom for tonight's special event. Tapestry was bright and colorful and the mood was enthusiastically high. Countless people from all the realms in the land in and around Astoria. From the cold and derelict land of the Machine Empire to the north or to the beautiful southern realm of the Shire, to the west where the land of constant darkness and unknown beasts known as Hyde to the Eastern lands known as the Blank. All where dressed up in the fanciest most expensive suits and dresses befitting any of their stature. Of course, when the doors were open to anyone ot come in, that meant even peasants of the lowest class came to see what the fuss was about.

"Where is he?"

A tall handsome young man stood near the throne where his father the king sat. Astor was the eldest prince and heir to the throne, yet he was showing a level of frustration at the moment. It was like a raging volcano that was on the verge of exploding.

"He'll be here, so calm yourself, Astor," said King Lyon on his throne. He had known of his son's vile temper, something he must have inherited from himself, but he knew how to snuff it out should it get too far out of hand.

The son turned to his father. He spoke through gritted teeth. "I did not spend countless hours preparing a ball in his honor, nor dress up for the occasion, just for him to play hooky."

"I sent a brigade to escort him home should he refuse to do so of his own volition," said the king. Most likely his son was at the training hall located a mile or two from the castle. Though a prince, his youngest son wished to be a general when he got older, even though Astor more than made up for the soldiering in the family since Lyon retired when he was just a boy. The old man sighed, his age beginning to show in his tired body. "I just hope he behaves himself."

"Fear not, brave father."

The two men looked to the side and saw a lone boy who couldn't have been older than sixteen approach the throne.

Astor's face relaxed slightly while Lyon smiled. "Good to see you made it, Zayne." Then the man looked at his brother with a very displeasing glance. "you didn't dress up for the occasion, I see."

"I didn't have time to change, since I was already late to begin with." Unlike the regal appearance of his older brother, Zayne didn't really look like a prince at first glance. He wore the colors of his kingdom (sky blue and fire red) but the red was constituted of a red leather jacket and black slacks as well as a blue undershirt. He wore the symbol of his family, that of a lion, as a silver pendant that was on the collar of his suit. He also wore a sky blue cape with gold lining that was draping from his shoulders. His shoulders had gold pauldrons attached to them. His short dark brown hair was slightly spiky and not so elegant, unlike his brother's which was smooth and combed back. "Anyway, I am here and I am ready for what you all have planned for me-"

"-You're to finalize on a bride to marry," said Astro said without missing a beat.

Even before that sentence had been finished Zayne had already turned his back on his family. "Then I am out of here."

The king stomped his cane into the carpeted floor. The echo went through the hall and got everyone's attention but for a moment before they all turned back to what they were doing prior. "Get back here, boy."

Sighing in defeat Zayne turned back around. "I am not staying if that is why you threw this party."

"You have been playing the waiting game for long enough, brother. It's been two weeks since father passed the offer for a bride for you and while there were results from that event you never took advantage of it-"

"How many women showed interest in him? Total?" asked the king, wanting an answer. Zayne was looking more annoyed with each passing moment.

Astor on the other hand was having a ball, no pun intended. "Last I saw, there had been four ladies who seemed to interest my brother the most."

"Four is too many for me at the moment," said the younger prince as he crossed his arms. "How many times do I have to tell you that I am not getting married?"

"And how many times do I have to tell you that you have no choice int he matter. you will either find a bride tonight or suffer the humiliation of ME picking out your bride for you," said Astro, the vein in his temple starting to bulge in venting his frustration. Still, from the look on his face he might be looking forward to humiliating his brother with picking the woman he'd be spending the rest of his life with.

"...fine, I'll think about it," said Zayne before he started to walk back towards the entrance.

"And if you leave you'll be forcing my hand. you hear that brother?!"

Too bad Zayne ignored him as he walked away.

Astro sighed, finally feeling the frustration leave his body. That brother of his was sometimes not worth the effort.

Despite the tension in the air the king asked politely with a touch of curiosity. "And what of these four ladies that my son showed some interest in?"

Running his memory, Astro listed them off. "All of them are from lands besides our own. A red head girl from a family in the west, a warrior of the cyber lands, the princess from the Shire, and finally a strange girl with horns from parts unknown."

"A warrior, a princess, and two random girls? I dare say he has quite a choice to make."

And for everyone's sake, Astro thought, he hoped Zayne would finally make that choice.

"There are times I hate my family," said Zayne as he went out to the castle's front garden. He needed to vent badly. He was normally more composed and carefree in his attitude than he was now but ever since he had been put under constant pressure to find a bride he had been in a less than ideal mood as of late.

Well, it wasn't like he didn't want to marry at all, he just wanted to wait until he found the right woman. When it came to the difference in taste between him and his brother the two couldn't have been more different. While Astro preferred to have a girl who looked nice and was of nobility, Zayne was more practical. He didn't want a woman who was all talk and no go, that could handle herself in a fight, and be strong on her own as opposed to the damsels he was used to seeing around the kingdom.

'I want a woman who can fight and not rely on me to protect her. Hard to find for sure but a guy can dream.'

The prince came to sit on the edge of the stone fountain in the center of the garden. There were a few party goers outside but most remained in the castle. That was good because he wanted some time to himself to clear his head.

"Finally we found you!"

Raising his head Zayne sighed before getting to his feet as four beautiful girls dressed in formal wear approached him. His prospective brides.

The first to approach was a sixteen year old girl in a black and red rose petal styled strapless dress, she had horns on her temples and a reptilian tail. Parts of her neck and hands were covered in scales while her platinum blonde hair was fluffy and reached her shoulders.

"Rose, nice to see you." said Zayne, finding it rather coincidental that he met a flower girl in a garden. Add to that her name was Rose and that completed the trinity.

Ever a sweet minded girl, Rose spoke rather bashfully. "I was taking a break from the festivities by being out here when I saw you-"

"Zayne honey I finally found you!" She was cut off by another one of the girls breaking through the crowd and hastily wrapping her arms around Zayne's torso. She was shorter than Rose was and despite how she had the appearance of a young teen she was actually the same age as Rose. Still, the size difference and the small black dress she wore that made her child-like didn't help her situation. That and her red copper hair was tied in two tails on her head didn't either.

Zayne patted the top of the girl's head gently, "Moxy I really wish you would not do that-" he said, putting emphasis on the word 'really'. Still he was polite in the end. "-unless we were not in public."

The girl looked up into his eyes with bright green cheery eyes, "How can I hold in my excitement when I see you? I simply cant!"

Rose's expression was one of sheer unbridled jealousy. Her beautiful face frowned at a rival for her affection, while Moxy didn't let her go unnoticed as she hugged the prince the girl looked back at Rose and smiled a surprisingly sadistic smile as if to say she had won this one.

Yet she wasn't the only one to vie for the man's affection.

Grabbing onto his left hand was a woman in a purple gown. She was easily the best dressed of the four women, which showed off her status as a one of high aristocracy. Well, she was higher than that, as she was a princess. Her elegantly adorned and mended lavender colored hair was long and her fair skin was glittered to give it a shine. The top of her dress was the most eye catching for two very obvious reasons: her chest was big and the top was straining to hold it in. Definitely an eye catcher to hotblooded men, but this princess had eyes only for Zayne.

Her grip was unusually strong on Zayne's hand and he squeezed her fingers with his own. "You're here too, Your Highness?"

"Of course I am, beloved Zayne. It is destiny that we meet here," she said.

Holding onto his torso Moxy increased her grip, and made her statement on the matter. Like a child wanting to hold onto its precious toy she refused to let go. "No fair, Annabelle! I had him first!"

Annabelle's eyes closed, her mind unchanged as she wrapped her arms around Zayne's arm. "But destiny says I will marry Zayne."

To finish off the ensemble the last woman, dressed in a light blue cocktail dress that had a slit up the left side to her underarm, she put a cold hand on Zayne's right shoulder. Her hand was heavy and Zayne could feel it through his coat. Her hair was short and slate blue, the same color as her skin. Yet Zayne knew that her skin was nothing but a cover. For this woman's limbs were mechanical and machine like, being from the land of Machines. "I do not care what you all think-it is I who will wed His Highness."

Thinking how this was all out of control in a hurry Zayne closed his eyes to hold in his frustration. 'Someone end me now-'

CRASH!

It happened suddenly and unexpectedly. Something flew in from the sky and crash landed in the garden far away from where Zayne and his entourage stood.

The woman stopped fighting over the prince-for the moment-and seemed to be asking the same thing.

"What was that?" asked Rose as she turned in the direction of the explosion, where a pillar of smoke was now coming from and going into the night sky.

Zayne got free of the women and took a few steps forward. "Not sure but..." he raised his right hand and out of thin air, courtesy of the magic that was a part of his bloodline, a large sword with a curved jagged blade formed. He shouldered the weapon, the pink-red jewel shined on the end of the golden handle. He spoke to the women, "Wait here, and I will find out."

Personally he told them to stay for their own safety, though he knew they all could handle themselves in battle well enough, but Zayne needed this.

He was hoping there would be trouble and that he would be able to use his sword. It'd be a good way to cap off an otherwise terrible evening.

The crater that had been created from the arrival of the strange object was not empty as a tall humanoid knight in white armor came from within it. It searched around the area as if looking for something, having arrived in this strange world on a mission of great import.

Soon enough it found something-more like someone-approaching from the forest.

The young prince of Astoria walked into the area casually holding his large sword. "And who might you be?"

Right then and there, the monster knew it had found what it was looking for.

The light in its chest began to glow as it spoke aloud, "TARGET ACQUIRED. BEGINNING RETRIEVAL AND TRANSPORT TO BATTLE CITY."


	23. Mysterious Woman

North of Paris

Kingdom of Gaul

The fields of the kingdom of Gaul were quiet-up until a few moments ago.

The night was normally a time where everything should be resting, to be prepared for the next dawn. Yet not now.

The empty fields of Gaul had become a battleground, small craters littered the area, trees were fallen either knocked over or cut down and boulders the size of houses had been reduced to dust and littered the grass for miles.

The fight had been fierce and brutal but it was approaching its end, and one of the fighters was on the verge of death.

It rested its back against the wall of rock, clad in white armor and humanoid in shape the monster felt no pain even after it had lost its left arm-sliced from the shoulder by his opponent. Even with the small countless cuts covering its body the white knight didn't bleed nor did it show signs of pain or anguish as it slid down the rock to lay in a heap on the ground. A bright white light in its chest was pulsing rapidly, like a heart on its last legs.

"LIFE...FORCE FADING..."

Light steps approached it from the road it just came from, and a shadow fell upon the knight. A woman holding an elegant silver long sword with one hand approached the fallen knight. Unearthly beautiful with long straight blonde hair and wearing a white cape tied around her shoulders. Under it she wore a white long sleeve leotard that was form fitting and decorated with thin green vines along the stitching. She wore no protective armor save for the upside of her forearms and from her knees down, where silver armor protected her limbs.

Aurora Ravensbourne brought the tip of her sword to rest under the knight's chin, her voice was cold as were her green eyes. One would understand why she was that way given how this whole situation unfolded.

"Speak. Why did you attack me?"

The knight was silent even with the weapon pointed right at its throat. Aurora wasn't stupid. she knew this thing could speak. When it confronted her in the field it said something of 'beginning retrieval of target.' From there a fight broke out and it ended at this point.

She had gone easy on it, allowing it a punch or two but when Aurora couldn't get any further information she fought back, slicing off the knight's arm and slashing its body at key points to where it stopped fighting. Then she played the interrogation card again, determined to get answers before it expired.

The swords woman stood and waited for a response. She didn't want to kill this thing even after everything that had happened, but if it was suffering she would put it out of its misery when she got what she wanted out of it.

Too bad that was not going to happen.

"TAR...GET...ACQUIRED...TRANSFER TO..."

Before it could finish its command Aurora shoved the length of her blade through the monster's neck. Crunching was heard that was more akin to a machine being smashed than breaking of bones, and she didn't stop until the sword was halfway through. The light in its chest went bright for a moment before expiring and going dark. Then it stopped moving.

"Pick your battles wisely next time," said the woman before violently pulling the sword back out. There wasn't any blood on it but that didn't surprise her as she put the blade in the sheath on her back.

As she turned to walk away, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. The creature's chest pulsed one last time, a burst of white light exploded from its once dead chest.

Yet as the light began to wash over her, Aurora didn't react with fear or trepidation. In fact, her expression remained as stoic as ever, and she seemed to welcome whatever would happen next.

When the light vanished, both Aurora and the fallen knight had disappeared without a trace. A calming breeze went through the area, signaling the return of the peace in this often ravaged land.


	24. Reptilian Captain

The Bayou, Louisiana

1988

The outskirts of the swamps deep in Louisiana was a barn on the property of the Wyatt family. Inside that barn, sitting on the hood of his dad's old '77 yellow Camaro was the only child of the family.

Sixteen year old Jonathan Wyatt was looking down in the dumps and he had to let his voice be heard in the old and rundown barn.

"You know, things got really good for me for awhile. I was heading towards the top of my class, I had finally managed to get the girl of my dreams, and I even had good standing in school-then, you guys came along and turned my whole world upside down. Now people think I am nuts when I..." He sighed, unable to continue speaking as he felt a lump form in his throat.

Heavy steps from inside the barn got the teen's attention and he looked up, way up as what could only be described as a humanoid reptilian in combat gear slowly walked into the barn. Humanoid was stretching it as the being had the head of a Utah raptor with orange and black scales for skin and a tail. Standing over twelve feet tall it barely fit in the barn. The hands were three fingers with claws and it had feathers on the back of its head as well as a small stump of a horn on the tip of its nose. "I apologize on behalf of my crew the trouble we have caused you and your people-"

The fact that it spoke perfect English thanks to the technology at its disposal went past Jonathan for the moment. "Trouble? I think we're way past that, Rex. Now instead of living a perfect life I am forced to help shelter you from anyone else until you guys find a way off planet. I think I got royally screwed in this deal."

Rex knew the words, while true, meant little to help the situation in the long run. "Until we fix our ship, as well as defeat the Primals, I am afraid we cannot leave. However, we do appreciate you're help-as much as you would rather not."

Putting his head in his hands Jonathan rubbed his hair, clearly frustrated with the situation he had been dealt with. Promise you'll try and not, you know, ruin my life any further than you already have? That's all I am asking for, okay?"

"I promise you, we will try-" The communicator built into the gauntlet on his left wrist started to go off and the captain raised his arm to speak into it. "Kappa? What's wrong?"

"Good, the communicator is working, just like I said it would." Kappa was the head researcher of Rex's crew and the smartest creature he knew, if not a bit arrogant in how smart he believed himself to be. He was a humanoid chameleon and as he would constantly force people to acknowledge, not a fighter. He'd prefer to push buttons in his lab all day than pull triggers. "Captain, I have some interesting news for you."

"What is it? Have the Primals found us?"

The captain hoped that was not the case. His crew had only landed on this planet a week ago and were still unsure of they could handle a fight with their mortal enemies. Especially when humans were around, but that was offset by the fact that they had crashed in the thickest swamp in the land.

"No, its not them...in fact I dare say that this foe is really odd. Hammer and the others are fighting it now but they need help."

"Tell them to hold their position, I'm on my way." Rex lowered his arm and turned to the human teenager. "I must return to my crew. Once again, son of Wyatt, I thank you for all you have done for us."

The bipedal lizard slowly walked out of the barn and as soon as he was able to stand up straight, ran into the thick swamp towards his allies.

Unbeknownst to him Jonathan had followed him out, and finally vented his frustration in full. "YEAH RIGHT!"

Normally when there was a fight that involved Hammer, a large bipedal lizard with the head of a Syracasaurus and carrying a huge metal hammer, they typically didn't last long.

Yet as Hammer and the others discovered, this particular fight was unlike any they had ever fought before and this enemy was unlike any they had fought before as well.

"Man this guy is persistent!" said Sobek, the weapons specialist who looked like a walking crocodile armed with a large laser cannon. He took cover behind a fallen tree that had been knocked down in the fight right next to his comrade Ignis. The smaller soldier was dressed in a white officer's uniform and had the head of an iguana. He had been fighting behind cover with small arms. Ignis was always a more cautious fighter compared to his more direct comrades.

"Where's the captain?"

"Kappa sent a message out. He should be here any moment-"

A small explosion caused water to fly up into the air-not to mention burst a tree into countless pieces-that sent the two scurrying back to further cover.

As they got into their new place and started to fire again, Hammer lept over them and right into the direct line of combat unafraid of what lay before him.

"Come at me, insect!" He swung his hammer at his foe, who stopped by simply grabbing it with his hand. Hammer had put enough force behind it to flatten a small building but the fact that a creature with a muscular frame and wearing nothing but white armor-as well as being unarmed- had stopped his attack cold didn't shock him. In fact he got excited to meet such a strong foe. "Haha! Finally! An enemy who can fight me!"

"Quit having fun Hammer and crush that thing!" yelled Ignis as he reloaded his plasma pistol.

The white knight and Hammer proceeded to exchange blows and while Hammer was known for being the superior fighter among the crew, he was quickly discovering that his immense strength was offset by how slow he was. His bulk was up against a more agile foe and no matter how many times he swung his hammer he was beaten to the punch with a punch or kick from his foe.

Luckily he was not alone.

The other more experienced fighter made her presence known after Hammer had been knocked away by the knight. Using the trees to quickly traverse the swamp, a smaller more human sized reptilian leap onto the back of the monster when its back had been turned. Once on its back she began to claw and tear at the face and shoulders with the long claws on her hands like a savage animal.

From behind the safety of their tree the two officers cheered on their comrade. "Get'em good, Melusine!"

As she fought to maintain her attack and balance Melusine forgot that her tail was open and the knight simply grabbed her by the tail and slammed her down into the water. That attack left it wide open for a direct unprotected attack from hammer's weapon. The blow had the force of a freight train behind it and the knight was sent flying, letting go of Melusine's tail before it went off.

Melusine got to her feet, her fangs barred and she was in a frenzy. She had a more humanoid appearance due to being a hybrid but her entire body save for her face was covered in yellow and green scales. Despite her slender frame she was much stronger than she looked. Her serpent eyes were red with rage.

Hammer, despite green blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, was ready for round two. "Let's get'em while he's down-"

Laser blasts from the direction of the creature came at the reptilians like a barrage, being fired from both palms in the monsters hands. It became too much for them to handle and they also fell back, though it took a few direct hits before Hammer fell back. From behind their tree the four soldiers took turns blasting back but without knowing if their shots connected without risking getting hit they could do nothing more-

Then the blasting ended abruptly. Melusine looked over what remained of their tree and saw with glee that the monster was busy fighting someone very familiar.

The captain had arrived.

Rex had approached the battle from the rear and taken the monster by surprise, using his small adaptable battle axe to get in close and fight it hand to hand. Despite its firepower, the captain recognized from his videos of Earth's fighting styles that this thing while not human fought like one when up close. That made the exchange between the two combatants easier for Rex to get the upper hand. He fought like a reptilian, which meant quick attacks to vital points in the enemy's anatomy such as the knees and head. Common knowledge to Reptilians but under exploited by other races.

The final blow came quickly. As it reared back both hands to fire a combined laser blast Rex went into the air and using all his strength drove the blade of his axe towards the head of the knight. He missed by inches, it instead went in deep through the left shoulder. The blast generated by its hands went up harmlessly into the air. The blade was stuck in the creature by inches and its left arm dropped to its side limply.

Rex slammed his fist down on his weapon to drive the blade in further just for good measure and the knight's other arm went limp.

The crew, now certain the battle was over, got up from their cover. Melusine sat on Hammer's shoulder and was tending to his wounds which he insisted were nothing to worry about. Ignis waved at the captain, "Good one sir! Impressive as always!"

Sobek had to agree, "We could of handled him but thanks for the help."

Rex raised his hand to stop his crew from coming over to him. "Something's not right here..." While victory had been achieved, there was little cause for celebration for the captain. This thing was not Reptilian, nor was it a Primal. It looked human but it also felt otherworldly, alien even. Yet what bothered him was the light he could see coming from its chest. It was pulsing like a heartbeat, and it was getting faster.

Still the crew kept the good mood up. Ignis put his weapon away, "Let's get it back to the ship so Kappa can take a closer look at it. you know he's just dying to see what caused us to-"

Rex's eyes went wide as he felt a wave of static go through the air around him. He turned to his crew, urging them not to come any closer. "Get back!"

They stopped just as a bright white light engulfed the area around the creature and the captain. It blinded the crew and they recoiled from it as well as raised their arms to shield their eyes.

When they felt the light dissipate, they saw to their shock, that their captain was gone.


	25. Star Magician

Space

Somewhere between the Earth and the Moon

'As cadets of the Academy you must adhere to our mission: as guardians of the planets in our solar system we defend life against the dark matter monstrosities of the Void. We must never falter! We must never let the darkness in!'

That was the motto of ARMA Academy, and Heka Cromwell repeated it to herself on a daily basis. Once int he morning, once during class, and once before bed. Not that she didn't know it by heart but her instructor had insisted she have it pounded into her memory as if she'd get hit with a mind erasing spell someday.

'Maybe that would happen? Hmm...' thought the young woman as she flew through the cold vacuum of space, an indigo colored protective shield of magic power protecting her from the inhospitable environment. Her mind was always curious about certain things, but the best way for her to get answers would be to find out for herself instead of reading about it all the time. She was more outgoing than her peers in the Academy.

That would explain why she was flying in space around Earth instead of being in study hall. Ever since she had learned to harness power to fly at light speed she couldn't stop. How could she? Humanity had yet to come up with ways of traversing the solar system and here she was, a human girl with mighty magical power flying through space and having the time of her life! It was so much fun!

She flew to her next stop, which was the Lunar surface of the moon, specifically in the Sea of Tranquility. The same place that the moon landings happened in 1969. Heka was careful not to go near that place as well as kept her feet off the surface by floating just above it. She was curious but not careless. Of course her attire made her look like a preppy school student. Dressed in the standard female uniform of the ARMA Academy albeit with some modifications such as a much shorter indigo skirt and a lavender blouse, Heka also had pitch black stockings that covered her legs. She would normally wear better attire but as magically speaking she was given free clothes she felt that she needed to be formal.

Looking up at the planet she called home, Heka sighed in content as she watched the earth go about its business. Despite all the trouble the planet had going on its surface, it looked quite peaceful from where she stood. She smiled.

"Heka?"

Hearing her name the girl rolled her eyes before she reached behind her back and held the staff in front of her. The staff was four feet long, made of metal, and had an angled crescent hook at the top that looked like a crescent moon. In the space of the hook a face formed via magic like a hologram that spoke to the girl. The rather handsome face of her instructor Cephaeus, who spoke with a welsh accent. He was back int he Academy back on earth, but spoke to the girl through his own means that was connected to her staff. "you're late for class. Again."

Heka returned his quip with her own, speaking with a Welsh accent as well and putting a hand on her hip. "How can I be stuck inside a classroom when all we do is talk about how we're to protect the solar system? We should be in the field exploring, not just talking about it!"

Cephaeus had heard this tale multiple times before. So much so that he could recite it word for word. "I know how you feel but rules are rules. Also we don't want you to be reckless until you're ready for the field."

Heka turned her head away in disappointment, strands of her honey blonde hair fell over her shoulders. "Just give me a moment and I'll be back to the Academy."

"Actually, since you're close to it anyway, there's something we want you to investigate."

Her head snapped back towards the staff and Heka gave a cheerful smile. She liked that. "Is that so? Well, where do you want me to go?"

"The Asteroid Belt."

Her smile got bigger. "Why is that?"

"We're sensing a great deal of power coming from that sector. We fear it might be a monster of the Void readying a preemptive attack but we're short handed down here so we dont have anyone to send to check on it. But because you're close enough as it is, and you're so eager to play hooky-"

"I'll do it, sir!" Heka said with enthusiasm in her voice.

"Just be careful and don't engage any hostiles if there are any, got it?"

Putting the staff back behind her Heka floated upwards away from the moon's surface before taking off like a shot towards the belt. Cephaeus thought that she had not heard his warning.

Pausing only to admire the red planet Mars for a mere moment, Heka made it to the outskirts of the Asteroid Belt in seconds of her order. The place was wide and obviously full of rocks. She spoke to her staff, "Where do I start looking?"

Cephaeus spoke through her staff, "Somewhere near the Vega asteroid or near the dwarf planet Ceres. It shouldn't be easy to miss."

Heka flew in and out of formations, avoiding the rocks that were floating in the area, careful not to budge them as doing so could knock them out of their orbit between Mars and Jupiter. That could be disastrous in the long run. She'd rather not be the cause of a new crater in a distant star or nearby planet. That would be embarrassing.

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out for it-oh? Wait a minute." She said as she came to a stop near an asteroid the size of an Abrams tank. It was from there that she saw something rather peculiar. A tall, white clad humanoid in what looked like armor standing stock still on another much larger rock. "I think I found it."

"Is it Voidsent?"

From what she could tell, Heka shook her head, "No...it doesn't look like it."

This being was in fact more like a knight in white metal or bone armor than the dark husk looking forms of the Voidsent. It also was standing on the rock, arms crossed over its chest and seemingly waiting for something. It was definitely creepy in her view and it sent a chill up her spine.

"How should I proceed?"

Cephaeus urged caution. "We have Tyl on his way, until then do not engage whatever that is."

Easy for you to say, thought the girl. Just watching the monster was creeping her out and so she ducked down further behind the asteroid to avoid looking at it.

Reflexively Heka reached for her left side where a small satchel was attached to her left hip and pulled out what looked like tarot cards. 'I knew I should have tried my hand at what fate would deal me today...well, better late than never, right?'

The cards lined up in front of her in a set pattern. As a hobby in her spare time Heka was a tarot card reader, befitting her classification as an Astrologian Magician (or more known as a Star Mage (a mage that specialized in star magic). It was a classification that was extremely rare to the point where no one on the student council had that rank. Still she was humble about it and didn't let it get to her head.

She ran a hand over the four cards that lay face down before her, "Oh cards, tell me what to expect in my proceedings-" she put her hand on the far left card. "If I am to say...attack that monster, what is my fate?" She turned it over.

Death.

Off to a bad start, she thought with a groan. Well least that was the worst that could happen, right?

"If it were to attack me, without any provocation from me, what would I get?" She turned the card on the far right over.

Judgment.

That caught her by surprise. Judgment? For what?

She still had cards to work but the Death and Judgment cards were a couple of the so called 'no more arguing' cards in the deck. Finality was their game and she was the victim in the deal.

Heka was sure her fate was already signed and sealed and so she put her cards back in her pouch.

"Well, Tyl will be here soon then I can hit the road," she said before she stood up to get ready to leave-

-when a massive armored fist struck through the asteroid she was standing behind and shattered into a million tiny pieces. Though the fist didn't connect with her, just missing her face, Heka was sent flying like a tennis ball into another asteroid. Thankfully she had the where with all to use her magic to prevent her from actually crashing into it.

"Bloody hell that was close!"

Heka didn't normally swear but she was so caught off guard that she couldn't help herself.

"Ms. Cromwell? What happened?"

From her staff she heard Cephaeus speaking. Heka was looking right at the being that had just attacked her, but it just floated in the spot where she had been prior. It stood with its arms at its sides, but was no doubt looking in her direction.

"That whatever the hell it is just took a swing at me!"

"Hell, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"It missed, but I think I might have lost my head had it connected," Heka said as she floated upwards at the same level as the monster. "This thing is really strong..."

"Good thing I sent Tyl in your location. He'll be there shortly-"

"Uh-oh," said Heka before she had to break off the connection with her instructor. That was because the monster had thrown a small asteroid at her. Well, small is what she called it (if you could call hurling a rock the size of a Volkswagen with one hand small). Heka had speed on her side, but only enough to get her to dodge the rock.

"I don't think this thing will play the waiting game, sir," said the girl as she brought out her staff from her back.

"Ms. Cromwell! Don't do anything hasty now!"

"Well, I am not just going to let this bugger do me in-" With staff in her right hand, Heka extended her arms. Concentrating her magic to control gravity she used it to grab two larger asteroids and by bringing her hands together directly in front of her she managed to bring the rocks together too-where they smashed the monster between them when they collided. The resulting collision caused a small shock wave that knocked smaller rocks away to collide with others nearby.

Her attack was successful but she wasn't going to settle down and let her guard down.

Good thing she didn't as soon after the rock exploded as the monster broke free, unscathed from the attack and flew right at Heka.

Using her staff Heka used it to bring in rocks from all around her to try and pound the knight. This wasn't enough as it just kept going, swiping them away with its hands as it tried to get close to land a blow.

"Maybe he'll like this!" She raised her left hand and fired white magical energy from it. Stationary at first but when the pressure was added she fought back while moving. Moving at high rate of speed, the two fought back and forth across the width of the belt. Asteroids were knocked out of place or sent flying or smashed by fists or blasted to pieces by magic.

Back and forth they went with neither getting the advantage. This was the hardest fight that Heka had ever had since gaining her magic powers, and the pressure was weighing on her heavily. she was sweating profusely and her breathing was beginning to drag. Still she pushed herself beyond the line and kept the fight up, she even went on the offensive.

She did so by focusing her power into a small confined space and then when it was ready to burst she threw it at the knight. This actually hit it directly in the chest and went off like a large bomb. It cleared a large area deep in the belt that could be seen from afar. The knight was blasted away, smashing through three asteroids before becoming embedded in a fourth.

'Hope that keeps him down for good...' thought Heka as she took a deep breath. she was now regretting avoiding constant exercising. 'I really need to get my cardio up.'

Taking a deep breath and flew to check on her foe, privately hoping she wasn't walking into a trap.

Smoke was coming from the impact zone but as she got closer she saw that it looked like it wasn't going to get back up. Heavily damaged and looking like he had fallen from a high point and crashed into the ground. Heka couldn't help but gasp at what she had apparently done.

"I didn't mean to actually kill it-I mean it attacked me and what not but-huh?"

What had cut her off was the light that was glowing from inside the chest of the monster. It was flashing lightly and in a way not unlike a pulse. But unlike a dying person it was speeding up.

"Ms. Cromwell what is going on?"

Cephaeus spoke to her via her staff and Heka had to step back before answering, "Not sure, sir-"

Her explanation was cut short as bright light exploded from the monster's chest and enveloped her, and when it died out, both the mage and the monster had vanished without a trace.


	26. Werewolf and Witch

Salem, Massachusetts

Late Night

The night was late and very cold but Johnny didn't care. He stumbled out of the bar, beer in a grip as loose as a banana peel. Drunk as a skunk and not caring at all, the twenty-three year old collage student had been kicked out for being too drunk. After arguing with the owner for a while and not getting anywhere he just told him to shove it and that he was going home. He had been offered a ride but he said he could walk. Obviously he wasn't thinkign straight which in addition to him not being able to walk straight made him a disaster on two legs.

The parking lot in front of the bar only had a handful of cars and a few motorcycles so when he began to howl at the crescent moon there was no one there to berate him.

'Who the hell cares if I am drunk,' he thought. That contradicted his way of thinking as if he knew he was drunk then was he actually drunk? This thought as well as others could be philosophical predicaments for all he cared. "Just need to get home and...and...what have we here?"

Casually leaning against one of the motorcycles, a Harley Davidson model to be exact, was a woman. Not just a normal woman in Johnny's eyes. In fact she was dressed too oddly to be a normal woman. she wore a dark red corset with sleeves that covered her arms. The corset was tight and it seemed to push up her chest enticingly-which was impressive in size to the young man-she also had tight black pants and matching black high heels. she had a lovely face, light pink lips and hazel brown eyes. Yet it was her hair that Johnny couldn't help but be puzzled about. Straight and long, in the light of the moon he thought it was black, but instead he got closer and saw it was a darker shade of blue. He also noted how young she looked. She appeared to be around his age. Even better.

The woman had a small smile on her face as she peered up at the moon.

Thinking this was his lucky night, Johnny strode up to the woman, "Hey there honey..."

The woman turned her head towards him, "Hello, can I help you?"

Johnny blinked when he heard her voice. It had an accent that sounded British, which was unusual but he could roll with it. "I just uh saw you here and-" he took drink of his beer and tossed it to the side. It shattered once it hit the concrete. "Wanted to say hello."

His best pick up line and it failed to impress her.

She shook her head slightly, "Sorry but I am here with someone."

Johnny laughed, "Is that right? And who might that be?"

The door to the bar opened and the woman's expression brightened to a point where Johnny thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. But that smile she had was not for him. He turned around and his own eyes went wide.

Standing at the bottom of the steps leading to the door was the biggest man he had ever seen. Not big as in fat either, but as in just a mountain of a man like a linebacker of a football team. Wearing a dark denim jacket over a blue tight tank top that showed just a bit of how muscular he was. Black denim pants held up with a silver buckle adorned with a wolf's head completed the ensemble. The man walked with heavy steps in black combat boots towards Johnny. His eyes were forward, staring holes that went through the drunk man and beyond, with short black hair.

Johnny felt like he was going to piss his pants when he ended up looking up at the man. He was tall, over six feet tall easy!

Stumbling back one step Johnny felt like his legs were going to buckle.

"Move."

The big man's words were stern and heavy with authority behind them, like that of a soldier. Johnny did so and the bigger man walked past him and got on the motorcycle the woman had been waiting at before she got on the back.

"Let's go home, Claire," said the bigger man to the woman. "Yes, Michael," she said lovingly before she kissed her husband on the cheek. Then she wrapped her slender arms around his torso and rested her head on his broad back.

Michael turned his head to give Johnny a death glare, as if he was saying not to mess with his woman again before revving the bike up and taking off with a loud roar that echoed through the night air.

Then Johnny fell to the ground and finally wet himself.

The Howlett's lived in the middle of the forest north of Salem, in a two floor house seemingly ripped right from 1700s America. Claire's family home for three centuries and it was her dream home. To Michael it was just home and if Claire wanted it like that then he had no argument to go with.

The ride from Salem back to their house took less than ten minutes and when they finally arrived Claire got off her husband's bike. She was done with all the running they had done all day and was quite ready for bed, it being way past her preferred bed time. She stretched her arms over her head and groaned, feeling her stomach protest such a plan. Neither she nor her husband had eaten in hours and she was feeling famished. "How about we have some dinner before we sleep?"

Michael remained sitting on his bike. Despite having woken up at six that morning he, unlike his wife, wasn't at all tired. But he was hungry. "Sounds like a plan, Claire. After that I am going to go check around the property before going to bed."

Claire crossed her arms under her chest. Her colonial American accent was on full display. "Must you do that every night? I mean, you spent a lot of money on a camera system meant to keep an eye out for anything unusual. Would it be better if you shared a warm dinner with your loving wife?"

Her words teased his ears and she walked up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.

Normally stoic like the soldier he tended to be despite being retired, Michael felt a smirk form int he corner of his mouth. Yet he was set, no matter how hard his wife tried to persuade him. "Hard to argue with that, but it'd make me rest easier if I do it and get it over with, ASAP."

Retreating her hand Claire gave in. She knew her husband was a man who stuck to his plans but that never stopped her from trying to change his mind. "Very well, but may I ask that I come with you?"

Michael got off his bike and took the key out of the ignition. "Thought you were going to go to bed?"

"I may be from the era of the devoted house wife but I do like the idea of standing by my man more."

Her answer got a small laugh from Michael. He had to remind himself that she was from the 1700s and had lived that life like it was programming, with little diverting from it. "Very well then."

"Anything else we need before we go?"

"Well, never hurts to be prepared," Michael raised his arms and showed that he was already prepared. His hands, as well as his forearms were encased in silver armored gauntlets and the finger tips were formed into animal like claws. His preferred insurance if anything dared attack him. "You might want your broom."

His wife was already ahead of him. She whistled loudly as if signaling a dog but instead of an animal a broom flew from an open window on the second floor of their home and flew right into her waiting hand. "There. It needs exercise as well."

Michael didn't know how that thing moved on its own but he wasn't going to ask. Some things were better left unanswered. He started to walk around the driveway, Claire close behind him. "We'll start from the backyard and go in a circle around the property."

"Lead the way, Captain," said his wife, referencing his rank from back when he was in delta.

Michael nodded once and took point as his wife followed him.

Little did the Howletts know, but they were being watched from afar by something that had been following them for some time. A tall white humanoid monster with a mission to complete. It had been searching for them, and now thta it had found them its mission was about done.

With a mechanical voice it spoke, "TARGETS LOCATED, BEGINNING RETRIEVAL."


	27. Cyber Detective

Solstice, Washington

United Americas

2119

As usual in winter time, it was cold and miserable and always cloudy in this area of the world. A major metropolis with enough people to rival New York City or any other, Solstice was its own kind of town with an extremely negative reputation. Crime was a constant threat and the police were not much help, murder and rape were as common as the rats in the city streets below the flying car highways. Small wonder most people never went out at night even with the curfew in effect.

Oh, and that curfew was not very useful because the cybers would end up breaking it anyway. Cybers were a group of people who used cybernetic implants to 'improve their lives through technology' yet it became an addiction. Like what marijuana was in the 20th Century cybernetics were for the 22nd.

Peace was a word no one used in Solstice. If it ever was it was used as a fake blanket, and from there all it took was a single act in order to get the cover blown off.

Though a curfew was in effect, pretty much forcing everyone to remain in their homes or else be put in jail, a single incident was unfolding in the streets of downtown Solstice. A car chase, to be exact.

Three police patrol cars were flying down the streets of the old city chasing a white 2006 Dodge Charger.

The driver knew he was screwed and he didn't care. He heard the police sirens and saw the lights but he didn't care. He didn't care at all. An African American man in his late twenties and dressed in a white Armani suit with a black shirt and tie with black gloves Crowe had other things on his mind despite what the pigs behind him. Though the cops had failed to see it, he himself was after another car and had been chasing it down for quite a few minutes before he was spotted speeding by the police. The car he was chasing down as a 2010 black SUV that some crap cyber had stolen from an old car dealership.

What was going on in Crowe's mind was the fact that he had let this chase get to this point. "I almost had the asshole before he booked it. Simple interrogation and the fucker tried to slag me."

Slag was the simple term of murder in the 22nd Century, but in Crowe's case he was already fucked. A failed interrogation and now the cops were involved. That and he had stolen a car from the same dealership, even though he had told the owner he was just going to borrow it and bring it back.

That was the plan anyway. Yet from how it was going Crowe wasn't sure that was going to be the case. He wasn't any closer to catching his prey than he was minutes ago.

The cars went in and out of traffic in the streets of the old city, past brick and stone buildings of yesteryear as well as shanty towns of recent times used by the homeless that ran rampant around the futuristic city.

Crowe was pushing the car to its ancient limits, almost forcing the gas pedal through the floor. He was used to using hover cars, not this relic.

Crowe's first instinct would be to make a joke about it, "Unlimited technology in the country and I chose a Dodge P.O.S."

That acronym was pretty self explanatory.

Still he put the pedal to the metal and chased down the other car going over forty in a tight area.

He would have hoped that this would be as hard as it got.

Then the people in the car started to shoot laser guns at him.

"For fuck's sake," said Crowe as a beam came through the windshield and buzzed by his bald head. He had felt the heat from that. "Hope they are sure shots, but just to make sure..." he pressed the lapel pin on the collar of his suit and a armored helmet covered his entire head and left slots for his eyes to see and his nose to breathe. Lights from inside the mask were a signal that the heads up display for his vitals and scanning of the environment was online. It was high tech, and the suit was top of the line.

Lasers from pistols scratched the car and came at rapid speed, but Crowe did little to dodge them. the streets were too narrow for that and he was going too fast. Still, that didn't mean he was just going to let them pop him full of holes. First he struck his fist, powered up by the suit he was wearing, and broke through the windshield. Then with his hands at the top of the wheel to hold it steady, he took his own blaster and shot rapidly in a straight line. Even at the rate of speed he was going his shots hit where it counted: the back window.

He strafed it from one side to the other, and it wasn't until after the vehicle started to swerve that he realized he had taken out the driver.

The car swerved wildly before turning to the left and it flipped multiple times down the road. Crowe had to swerve to miss the vehicle and he kept on driving down the road. The cops had to stop to avoid it and by the time they could move around it Crowe was long gone.

The detective gave an aggravated groan through his helmet. "Motherfucker. There goes the break I needed for this case."

Now he had to return the car and bribe the cops to let him get back to work. Just another typical day for Crowe the private investigator-

Then Crowe noticed something in the middle of the road directly ahead of him. A tall white figure from what he could see. The scanner in his helmet analyzed it from afar but all he got was a bunch of question marks and unidentified notifications. Just what is that ahead of him?

Not thinking too much on it but not wanting to hit it he turned slightly to the left to avoid it-

-and was in for a interesting surprise as the thing took a simple leat and landed ont he hood of Crowe's car!

The Charger tipped forward a bit from the massive weight gain but still kept going. Crowe had to grab hold of the steering wheel to keep it steady, and he still didn't have time to process what he just saw when the roof of the car was literally torn from it like paper.

From there he got a closer look at whatever the hell it was that was harassing him so suddenly. What was it? A machine? A cyber? It looked like a person wearing white armor similar to a knight but his scans couldn't find anything alive about it.

It didn't give Crowe a chance to react before it reached down and grabbed him by the collar and tried to yank him out of his seat. Undaunted Crowe kept his left hand on the steering wheel and used his right to grab the creature by the wrist. Normally he wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of overpowering anything, but the suit he wore gave him extra boost to his body, enhancing his strength ten fold and allowing him to twist the monster's wrist until it let him go. Yet the monster didn't respond with any sound of pain.

"Hands off, asshole-oh hell no," said Crowe as he saw straight ahead of him was the wide wall of a stone building. There was no way he was going to be able to steer away in time.

"Motherfucker."

His word was uttered just before a bright white light engulfed him and the knight. They both vanished in the mysterious light just before the car crashed into the wall and exploded.


	28. Dream Doctor

Waters North of Australia

Aboard the MORPHEUS

"Dream Chair set to go, vital system a go. All programs operational, Doctor. Ready when you are."

The young woman in the lab coat spoke to her reassuringly, but though she seemed deep into getting herself set up, Joia had heard her assistant. She only acknowledged her once she finished zipping up her own suit.

"Thank you, Elly," Joia Ti Phan pressed the button on the chest piece of her grey vitality suit. When she had put it on it was loose but by pressing the button it hugged her body like a second skin, showing off every curve she normally hid under a lab coat. A woman in her late twenties of Vietnamese descent, Joia Ti Phan was regarded by many as an oddity. A woman with the beauty of a model but with the mind of a scientist. Her hair, long a dark, was tied up in a braided tail that went down the entirety of her back.

Elly saw her finish preparations and noted how the suit was attached to her superior's body. Were it not for the black lined seems along the sides as well as the pulse points on the neck and wrists, Joia looked almost naked. In that regard Elly felt sorry for her superior, but admired the fact that she didn't appear at all bothered by it.

Still, she had to ask a question. "Isn't it awkward wearing something that tight? I certainly wouldn't be comfortable in it." Though a simple question she felt embarrassed just asking it.

Joia made sure the form fitting suit, which was extremely tight between her legs and her chest, was reading her vitals right. Being the head of the sector she was in Joia was the only one qualified to wear the suit, and she complained about it. She wasn't an immature woman who took issue with what she chose to wear. She had designed it after all, and she was prepared for any discomfort that came with it. Her voice had an Australian accent, as she was born in Sydney, which added to her uniqueness. "The suit serves a purpose in the Dream Realm. Its nothing I need to worry about otherwise."

Elly had expected an answer like that and turned back to her computer. The Dream Chair was ready for use. The contraption that was the most top secret of equipment used by Joia and her team looked like a majorly decked out beach chair with all sorts of machines attached to it. So top secret it was that Elly had no idea how it worked beyond the start up process. She had only seen it used a handful of times on training exercises that last only a few minutes.

Today was special in that the Doctor wanted to go as far as she could before she called it a day.

"It's ready Doctor." Elly repeated her words to her superior.

Yet the doctor was already getting into the chair. She spoke aloud for her video and audio recording systems to track her progress. "Daily Log: September 3rd, 2020, activation of Dream Chair for further testing. Time is 11:20 A.M. Observer is Eleanor, participate is Joia Ti Phan."

Elly helped install the vital needles into the suit's main pulse points as the visor came down over Joia's eyes. She laid back in the chair and got comfortable.

As Elly sat down in her chair, ready to begin the procedure, she waited for her superior's command.

It didn't take long.

"Proceed with Dream Initiation Protocol."

Time to take a dip, thought Elly as she began the start up system. After it got started, the tubes that had been injected into the suit began to pump in a medical cocktail consisting of insulin for pain as well as drugs to help Joia fall asleep. It was a painless procedure and within minutes, Joia drifted off to slumber.

With that Elly could finally sigh in relief. Her job was minimized to checking the vitality of the doctor. The rest was up to her superior.

Diving into the Dream Realm was never as easy as closing ones eyes and finding themselves in a ethereal realm. Joia had discovered that on her first trip to the place. It was more like taking a tall off a diving board at first, then blinking to realize you were freefalling through the sky.

It got her heart racing every time it happened, because she could never tell how far she had before she could make it to ground level. Yet she did so and safely every time. This trip was no different.

Landing on the ground if one could call it that, Joia felt the familiar sand like substance beneath her shoes. Which reminded her of one of the Dream Realm's weirdest perks.

She looked down at herself and was not surprised at what she saw. "This outfit again..."

No longer in her skin tight high tech suit, Joia now found herself in an all white outfit consisting of a white strapless top that covered her chest modestly but below her breasts her midsection was covered by see through white lace. A free flowing white skirt that reached halfway down her thighs swayed gently in the breeze, and she also wore white thigh high lace stockings and white high heeled boots. Her arms were bare save for the long white gloves that covered her lower arms and hands. Finally, there was a white lace shawl that was attached to her hair.

She couldn't help but feel a sense of dreading familiarity with what she wore. "Were it not beyond my control I would choose something different." Her hand had changed slightly too, keeping the braid in the back but the bangs on the left side of her forehead were free to cover her eye and the majority of her cheek down to her chin. She tried to move it back but gave up after it refused to stay put.

Every time she had come to the Dream Realm she had been changed into this dress and she couldn't figure out why. She wouldn't tell anyone about it until she figured out how and why it happened. Such was the way a scientist should work, and Joia followed that expertly.

Now in her new outfit, Joia took a look around at where she was.

When people thought of an alternate dream world, they thought of some of the most fantasized worlds filled with joy and hope and all sorts of crazy things.

But in this reality, there was nothing but a barren wasteland that seemed to be filled with nothing but dread and despair. The sky was ash grey, the sand beneath Joia's feet was charcoal black like that of the island of Iwo Jima. As for anything that could be considered a landmark, she couldn't see anything for miles. In fact she was certain she was the only thing in this desert.

But that assumption was most likely a false one. Joia knew better. Her previous trips to the Dream Realm were, unbeknownst to anyone else, more dangerous than she let on.

That was soon proven right as the sand began to shift all around her, going in circles like a predator circling its prey.

"Didn't take long for them to find me this time," thought Joia. She had hoped that she didn't have to worry about confrontation but once again her expectations were exceeded.

What she was talking about soon made itself known. From under the black sand, monsters that looked like victims of a fire started to come out of the sand. They were all black with lanky limbs and black smoke coming off their bodies. Empty white eyes were offset by their large mouths filled with sharp teeth and their mouths shared the white light from the inside. Their numbers quickly multiplied but Joia remained still.

Not out of fear but annoyance. These creatures she dubbed Nightmares (which was rather fitting in her mind) were numerous but not as threatening to the doctor as they should be.

"I just wanted to explore and document what I found..." she said disappointingly before raising her left arm up in time to stop a monster from attacking her. It stopped short of driving its razor sharp teeth into her arm as a metal object materialized in the air. It was shaped like a hook sword but thicker metal and with a wider blade.

As the creature recoiled from the sudden block, another hook sword flew like a dart and went through its neck. It was blown like dust into the air and vanished. Yet two more popped up in its place.

Even as that happened at least a half dozen more swords appeared and fanned out behind Joia while the first two took positions near her arms. This was the most handy trait she had discovered while in the Dream Realm. Though she didn't know how this worked, but during one of her first trips into the realm she came under attack by these Nightmares she discovered she had a form of self-defense she could utilize. Though scientifically she didn't think it was possible she had accepted she was able to use a form of telekinesis to control these blades with nothing but shear concentration needed on Joia's part. By simply moving her body she could make the blades do all the work, which she was grateful for as she had no physical defense skills to speak of so while she could speak of how implausible it was for her to do such feats, she liked to be prepared to defend herself.

But from the looks of it she was going to get her physical exercise after all.

Like a wave of dark water, the Nightmares converged on the woman, but they never got close to her as she began to defend herself.

While Joia was fighting the Nightmares while barely breaking a sweat, she failed to notice she was being watched from a distance. A humanoid in white bone like armor watched her with arms crossed over its chest. It had come to this realm looking for her, and while it wasn't able to feel emotion, if it had it would be glad to have completed its mission.

"TAERGET LOCATED. BEGINNING RETRIEVAL."

Then it moved.


	29. Astro Girl

Somewhere in the Andromeda Star System

The alarm in the tiny space ship was going off like a siren and Phoebe raised her head-and smacked right into the ceiling of her quarters. "OW!"

"I SEE YOU HAVE FINALLY AWAKENED, MS. PHOEBE."

Rubbing her forehead the blonde haired teenager tried to right herself and quickly realized that wasn't going to happen-she was floating upside down far above her bed. "Huh? hey B.O.B. why am I up here?" She rubbed her golden yellow eyes, silver markings were on her cheeks.

The robotic voice spoke through the intercom system, chastising her in a British accent. "SEEMS THE GRAVITY SHUT DOWN WHILE YOU SLEPT, MS. PHOEBE. SOMEONE SHOULD GET THAT FIXED, DONT YOU THINK?"

"Oh hush you-" Phoebe said before spinning herself to float upright. The gravity system on her little shuttle had always been faulty but as long as it didn't ruin the oxygen supply she could live with it. Besides, she got tired of walking all the time, and floating was far more fun.

Dressed in her pajamas consisting of a baby blue tank top and matching shorts the girl asked aloud, "Anyway could you shut that alarm off? I was having a nice dream, you know."

"LET ME GUESS, BOYS AND BATHS AGAIN?"

The robot's voice was full of sarcasm, but he hit the nail on the head.

Not that Phoebe had a problem denying it. "Correction: hot baths and even hotter boys, thank you."

"WELL HOPE THE STEAM didn't FOG UP YOUR SENSES. WE HAVE A SITUATION BREWING OUTSIDE THE SHIP."

That caught her by surprise, "What kind of situation?"

"IT'D BE BETTER TO SHOW YOU. PLEASE COME TO THE BRIDGE-"

"Roger that B.O.B.," said the girl as she started to maneuver towards the door of her room, passing anything that wasn't nailed down including clothes and books as well as her blaster pistol. That last item she grabbed along the way.

Yet her robotic father figure made a genuine point, "I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE BEST IF YOU GOT DRESSED FIRST, MS. PHOEBE."

Stopping just short of the door Phoebe decided that was a good idea and turned around. "Right, where is my XE-suit...ah there it is." She floated over to the silver suit that she usually wore when dealing with her problems. The XE-Suit or Extreme Environment suit was able to keep Phoebe safe in all environments on the most inhospitable planets. From the searing heat from the planet Mosh to the frigid cold of Osiris II, it could handle pretty much anything. That also meant, comically speaking, even Phoebe herself. Somehow the suit was able to keep her hour glass figure within its seams while being pushed to near breaking point in her chest area. It had yet to fail her in all her adventures across the galaxies.

She put on the silver suit, which also consisted of darker gloves that reached her elbows and knee high heeled boots. A metal ring was at the base of her neck which housed a glass bubble for when she had to go out into space for any given reason. On her back was a small single cylinder jet pack and oxygen tank, compacted for the girl's convenience.

Now feeling ready after about five minutes the girl left her room and went straight tot he bridge. She still kept the gravity off to conserve power int he ship.

"Alright, open the front windows and let's see what we got," said said as she got to the main console of the cockpit.

What she saw once they were open puzzled her. "Uh, what is that?"

B.O.B. answered in his usual sarcastic way, "MY SCANNERS CANT MAKE OUT WHAT IT IS-BUT IT LOOKS LIKE A HUMAN SHAPED ALIEN WEARING ARMOR FASHIONED AFTER OLD ENGLISH KNIGHTS."

Phoebe rolled her eyes, "I can see that, but what is it?"

Whatever this knight thing was, it was just floating in space without any sort of protection from the vacuum with its arms crossed over its chest and seemingly waiting for something to happen.

B.O.B. finished his scanning and came up empty. "I AM NOT SURE, MS. PHOEBE. ALL I KNOW IS THAT IT GOT IN FRONT OF THE SHIP WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING AND IT STOPPED US FROM GOING ANY FURTHER. WHEN WE TRIED TO GO AROUND IT CONTUIOUSLY BLOCKED US."

"Persistent huh?" Phoebe crossed her arms over her chest, which bounced slightly. "Well, if it won't hail our calls and scans won't work..." She turned and abruptly walked away from the console towards the back of the ship.

"MS. PHOEBE WHERE ARE YOU OFF TO?"

"Where else? I'm going to go out and say hello," she replied without a care and she even smiled before activating the glass helmet that encircled her head like a dome.

Still the computer running the ship tried to reason with her, "WE HAVE NO CLUE AS TO WHETHER THAT THING IS FRIENDLY OR NOT. YOU CANT JUST APPRACH IT AND ASK IT OUT FOR LUNCH- He cursed himself for even joking about that. Phoebe was just the kind of reckless, but good natured airhead to try such a thing. Yet she usually had luck on her side, which is more than likely why she had lived as long as she had alone.

Phoebe just smiled and took the joke in stride. "I'll be fine. What's the worse that can happen?"

B.O.B. wished her luck, but even if he physically could, he wasn't holding his breath.


	30. Red Masque

Ruins of the Palais Garnier

Paris, France

313 A.F.

The ruins of the once great city of Paris was a constant reminder to humanity's downfall, and Legato could hardly stand to think about it. The city itself had been uninhabitable for three hundred years since the Fall in which the Dragmas came screaming into the earth from their home dimension and wiped out most of life on the planet. Humans and animals were the targets of their rage and the monsters were relentless.

For the young man named Allegro, who had been born during this dark era, any source of light was hard to find. The will to keep going was even harder to maintain, but as soon as he came of age he knew of something to fuel his life.

Taking cover on the left side of the stage of the once impressive opera house, Allegro waited for the signal. The young man wore a finely tailored red suit similar to an eighteenth century-esque one with a white ruffle tie and a dark grey vest over a white dress shirt under the jacket. His mask, red and black in color, covered both his eyes like a masquerade mask. His hair was unkempt and short colored like a raven. No doubt his outfit stood out in the darkness and wasn't exactly something one would normally wear on a life or death mission into killing other dimensional beings. Still, Allegro had a knack for fighting in style and nothing would change his mind on the subject. Yet it was what he was holding in his right hand that was the most interesting part of his ensemble: a black pole with a curved red blade at the end. A scythe with what looked like piano keys built into the back of the blade. A sophisticated weapon for sure, but Allegro's expertise with it was unparalleled.

Of course, as rambunctious as he was to get to killing the dreaded monsters, the plan didn't call for him to go all out. Not yet anyway.

First they had to lure the monsters out of hiding, and that needed a special something to do so. Or in this case, a special someone.

That someone walked from behind what remained of the curtain and towards the front of the stage. A girl in her late teens and wearing a black lace dress and corset with a pale complexion as well as long straight black hair that shined in the moonlight much like her black lips did. The upper half of her face was covered by a heavily cracked black mask shaped like a butterfly. Her name was Sonata and she had the hardest job of anyone in the city tonight. She held in one hand a light blue violin which, after getting looks from her partners on each side of the stage, she started to play.

The music was a sad, smooth tune that echoed through the empty opera house. Such a sad melody could only be interpreted as tragedy experienced by the musician, and it tugged at Allegro's heart for the few minutes that it played.

Then there was a loud shriek before the ground began to shake. The enemy had taken the bait. From every nook and cranny in the ruins of Paris, the monsters came out of their hiding spots and into the opera house. Like hungry, rabid animals, what had once been humans came pouring into the building attracted to the music like ants to sugar. They all wanted a piece of the music, but they wouldn't get to enjoy it.

"Time to kill-" Allegro stepped out from his hiding spot before the monsters could reach Sonata. He spun in a circle and fearlessly went right into the horde, music was heard as the blade of the scythe was literally singing from being used. Those that stopped ended up getting cut down by the blade.

Not to be outdone, the other man from the opposite side of the stage came out and with his hands holding small bells in each hand. The unassuming appearance of the golden instruments was put off by the ringing they made, creating sound waves that sent the Dragmas flying in all directions.

"Sonata! Bomb them, now!" called the man to the violinist.

Spinning the string instrument in her hand Sonata's violin turned into an enchanted bow and with an arrow she conjured up from thin air fired into the mass of former humanity. The resulting explosion destroyed what was left of the seating area of the house and caused a few walls to crumble as well. However, the main thing the trio achieved was in what happened outside the building itself. The explosion had sent those that were not in the opera house scurrying back to their hiding places. The monsters were extremely sensitive to sound. It was how they hunted, but it was also their greatest weakness. The music of Sonata lured them in, and an explosion forced them back out.

A strategy thought of after much trial and error over the centuries, but it was all they had.

after finishing off all those that were still alive in the house Allegro put his weapon back over his back, and promptly crushed the head of one monster under his black boot.

"Damn creatures..." he said with disdain. He didn't feel sorry for them.

"Good job Sonata, though we should have waited until they got closer before striking-" said the other man as he shot a glare to Allegro. He wasn't pleased and he didn't hide it, his anger showing even from under the small mask he wore on his face. "You went too early."

Allegro put his hands on his hips, "Those things got any closer Sonata would have been torn to shreds. I think we saved her life, don't you think?"

The other man, named Octavius sighed and looked away. Sonata on the other hand was more considerate. Her bow turned back into a violin and she held it in her left hand. "Thanks for that."

Allegro nodded once and waited for a response from Octavius. The young man with the monocle was considered the veteran of the team and it wasn't a secret he didn't like the hot-headed Allegro very much. Still they worked well enough together and hadn't tried to kill each other.

Yet.

"Anyway, I'm starving, let's get something to eat, eh?" said Sonata, ignoring the smell of fresh blood and burning flesh.

Allegro liked the sound of that. "Yeah, let's go."

Sighing heavily Legato decided to not say a word and quickly left the stage.

Sonata nodded appreciatively at Allegro, both for saving her and complementing her style. As an Aria she had the toughest job of essentially being bait to lure the monsters in and it took nerves of steel to do so. Allegro knew as much as he hated the shriekers he would never do what Sonata could. He would have died within minutes of his first foray.

"Ladies first," said the man in red and he received a cute curtsy from his friend before she left.

He took a deep breath before looking over at the pile of dead shriekers. "Serves you bastards right..." He silently promised he would kill even more of them next time before he too left the stage to follow his friends.

He failed to notice that he had been being watched by a lone white figure standing above him int he darkness.


	31. Steam Punk

Harvest, New York

1912

Summer was soldiering on and Maxwell hated it. He didn't like the heat, which made his clothes stick to his body and made him sweat and stink worse than normal. He didn't like the mood it put everyone in because they'd turn their anger to him and cuss him out. Then he'd cuss them out and run after said cuss out got violent. To make matters worse in Harvest the heat was always worse because of the factories and all the work they were doing rose the temperature even more.

If there was one thing the young man liked about the whole deal was he had a good paying job working for a rich lady in uptown near the Nancy Street housing which was one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city. Paid him at least fifty dollars a week or more and all he had to do was whatever she wanted out of him.

Fair deal in the young man's mind.

So he dragged his dirty self, dressed in the clothes he had on his back, and went to see what Ms. Wayne wanted. A dirty brown jacket he wore that had plenty of holes in it as well as a black bowler hat that had holes in it from being used as target practice for a gang downtown. Arguably the best thing on him was his white shirt and dirty jeans. That was how you knew you were in Harvest. Everything was so damn dirty.

The house of Wayne was on the corner of 14th and Chelsea right next to a steam powered mail machine and wooden bench. The number 823 was on the side near the doorbell. This early in the morning it was still hot as all hell and yet Maxwell tried to make himself presentable before he knocked on the door. He then remembered to take off his cap just as it started to open.

A man in a black suit answered the door. He was old, many wrinkles on his face as well as a thick white mustache over his lip yet he stood straight up in a steady posture. "Ah, Sir Maxwell, the lady has been expecting you."

"Thanks uh Ian." It took Maxwell a bit to remember the old man's name but he thanked him regardless.

He led him through the house and right into the dinning room where right at the end of the long wooden table was a beautiful woman in a white night dress under a fur robe. Smooth skin, an ample chest, and the eyes of a caring mother. Madame Wayne turned her head as she saw Maxwell step into the room. "Hello, Maxwell dear. How are you?"

Seeing her having apparently just woken up from a night of sleep Maxwell couldn't help but think of her as still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. "I'm alright, ma'am, thank you for calling me. I was getting bored these last few days."

Ms. Wayne giggled at that, almost like how a teenage girl would. "Well, then I have something for you to quell your boredom, if you are interested."

Putting his hands in front of him Maxwell smiled and waited for his orders. He knew he was going to get paid for this, so he didn't even have to ask. He needed the money. Not just for himself but for the other homeless kids in his neighborhood who went days without food at a time. The last money he had made which was a lot he had given to them and they had been grateful for it. He wasn't going to let them down.

"Actually, I am not the one you are to see today. Sally needs your assistance."

Huh, thought the young man. "Sally needs me, you say?"

"Yes. she said you, and only you, can do what she needs."

Should just ask her brother to do it, he needs a swift kick in the ass in my view, thought Maxwell with a smirk at the thought. That was the funny thing about the Wayne children; they were nothing alike. Fredrick was an uptight, proud of his name son of an aristocrat. His little sister Sally was a teenage collage student who, unlike many women older than her and going against norm, had a brain and loved to use it. Feisty and stubborn, yes, as well as beautiful (no doubt inherited from her mother), but okay in Maxwell's mind. "Alright then, where will she be?"

"Ian will show you to her workshop," answered the Wayne lady.

"Workshop? She has her own workshop?"

"That is what her bedroom is called. She insisted upon it when she turned thirteen." she waved to Ian and he stepped forward.

"Follow me please young sir," said the older man before turning to leave the room.

Maxwell shrugged his shoulders and waved bye to the older woman before following the butler.

Were he being honest Maxwell thought he'd be taken to the second floor but instead he was lead to the fourth, technically where the attic was located. That made sense, at least to him. A workshop in this town was never confined to a small space instead taking up whole floors typically. He was led to a series of stairs and judging how stuffy it was not to mention smelling the distinct scent of oil he came to the conclusion that he was in the right place. Ian confirmed that by pointing up the next set of stairs.

Going up the final set of stairs Maxwell almost got his head taking off by a small flying object that crashed into the wall.

"Dammit! The propulsion is off-again!"

'That there be Sally...' thought Maxwell as he stood up, having ducked from the flying object and he saw Sally standing near a wooden table that had various tools and gadjets that even Maxwell had never seen before. There was a gun with a-hook in it? As well as a pair of boots that looked too heavy to wear.

"Ms. Sally?"

Dressed in a white and brown dress covered in soot and specks of oil on the skirt Sally turned and saw her newly arrived guest. "There you are. I was wondering if you'd ever show up, Max."

"If it means getting paid then I will," he said under his breath. "So, what did you want me for?"

Maxwell went over to her and she walked over to a table, taking off the thick brown leather gloves and tossing them onto what was supposed to be her bed but was covered in papers of schematics of machines and other clothes.

It was even hotter up in the attic than downstairs but as he had been around worse it didn't bother Maxwell. Sally on the other hand was sweating badly and the top of her dress was sticking to her skin. He noted however, that she was trying her hardest to not let it bother her as much. It did make her a bit more attractive to the boy. Just a bit.

"Here. I have designed a few little trinkets that need field testing. Mother has allowed me to build what I want but not use them outside the house for...reasons I suppose. That is where you come in."

"No surprise. A woman of your stature-" Maxwell was cut off when sally raised a wrench to rest under his chin.

"Cut the taboo talk, Max. I need to concentrate." She lowered her hand and cleared her throat. She picked up the hook gun. "First, there's this-a grapnel gun. Allows one to shoot a hook to get from one place to another. I managed to make it work in the garden last night but I need a further test by someone who knows this city better than I to make sure it is properly modified."

She handed the gun to Maxwell and he noted how heavy it was. "Huh, just pull the trigger and off the hook goes? Simple enough."

"There's a small crank on the side where you must reel the hook back in before you're able to use it again. Then, my latest invention, and one I am vastly proud of." She put her hand on the boots he had seen earlier. "Steam propulsion shoes on wheels."

Raising an eyebrow at first, Maxwell then chuckled. "You must be joking."

She ignored his jesting. "Nope. These are the future of causal travel. With just a bit of water and a bit of knee grease one can travel on wheels-using only their feet. With a simple button press on the ankle the wheels are lowered from the sides of the boot and the miniature rockets at the back of the hell are turned on. It can increase in speed slightly, but I need an actual field test to make sure it works properly."

The orphan took a closer look and noted how bulky the shoes were, but that seemed to be his only problem with them. They even looked like they could feet his feet. "Sounds dangerous."

"You're getting paid for testing my inventions so please try not to ruin them and tell me what I need to do to improve them."

A few minutes later, while Sally stood over him and explained the finer points of her inventions to him (that he largely ignored) Maxwell got the shoes on. As he expected, the fit perfectly. Also, like he expected they were a bit heavy at first but as soon as he started to walk he noted how he didn't seem to lose speed in his walk.

"I think they are comfortable-"

Sally cut him off by tossing him the hook gun. He almost dropped it in his attempt to grab it. "Just bring them back in one piece okay?"

"Sure," said Maxwell aloud, though he was thinking more of how much fun he was going to have using her gadgets.

The boy made it to the street outside but as he finished making sure he was ready to go, he failed to notice the strange figure standing down the street watching his every move. He failed to notice it until it was too late to stop what happened next.


	32. Battle Bot

Chicago skyline

2012

At first people in the streets of Chicago thought it was a series of fireworks. It certainly sounded like it, as it popped off in a series of loud bangs similar to what they would hear during the Fourth of July celebration. Then the debris started to fall and they took off for safety, still unsure of what was happening. News helicopters got into the air and finally found what it was that was causing the damage to building dozens of stories into the air.

The answer was shockingly simple. An aerial battle was unfolding in the skyline of the Windy City. One of the combatants was a young man in a high tech suit of armor flying around with jet propulsion wings flew in and around the tall buildings in the city, firing energy blasts from his wrist blasters and rockets from his shoulder armor. The upper half of his face was covered with a black visor that gave him a heads up display. He had been using it non stop since the fight had began minutes earlier.

Through the communications bud in his left ear, the young man with short spikey blue hair heard a voice shout to him.

"Hiro! Where the hell are you?!"

Flying around Willis Tower in a u-turn, Hiro spoke as he flew at a high rate of speed, "Above the city fighting for my life. What's up, Creator?"

His casual response was not what the other voice wanted to hear. "My name is James, first of all. Second, whatever happened to preventing an escalation of damage?! We agreed on this!"

"When the lives of innocent people are in danger, I cant just stand by and let it happen. You know this because YOU created me to think so."

Silence on the other end, and Hiro shut him off. He had other things to worry about. Such as his opponent.

And he wasn't far behind. Standing on the top of a nearby building, the white armored foe who was as silent as he was deadly fired blasts of energy from the palms of its hands at Hiro, who returned fire with his wrist blasters. He had to keep moving to avoid getting hit, while the knight remained in place even as the ground around its feet was badly damaged. Eventually under the weight of the knight it collapsed to the floor below.

Seeing this as his chance Hiro went in for a direct attack, firing his blasters while flying at top speed through the glass windows and right into the knight. An attack that would have broken anything else right in half proved to do little damage as the knight pounded the point of its elbow into the back of Hiro's head. Still the teenage soldier held on until they broke through the building on the other side when he lost his grip. Then he lost the power in his system, and they both fell in free fall with debris following them the entire way. They crashed in the intersection and the people in their cars either turned around and sped off while those who were on foot did the same.

Thankfully no one was hurt, which was good as the fight between the two resumed once one of them got to their feet. The first one to do so was Hiro and he struck hard right at the word go, drawing two swords from his back. In his left hand was a white blade that was thin and curved at the tip. In his right he held a black sword that was the same except it was straight its entire length. Both blades went to work at damaging the knight as it got upright. The creature tried to throw punches, a few of which connected, but ultimately Hiro got the upper hand. The two caused explosions with their extreme tussle through the street.

But it came to an end when Hiro combined both his hands to create a cannon that blasted a large hole through the knight's midsection and sent it flying back and crashing into a commercial trailer. It didn't move again.

His visor notified him that his suit was beginning its solar recharge, but Hiro ignored it. He went and got closer to his fallen foe. "What in the world is this thing..." He poked its chest with the blade of one of his swords to see if it was indeed dead-

-when a light began to pulse inside its chest. Not knowing what to do next, Hiro remained still as a bright light burst forth from the knight's chest and swallowed him and the knight.

When it disappeared, both he and the knight were gone.


	33. Super Heroes

Starlight City Bridge

2017

A long stone and steel structure connected Washington, D.C. with the metropolis known as Starlight City. The Bridge was beautiful at night. Lined with lights from one end to the other it was a spectacle even from miles away and worthy of its name. A suspension bridge similar to that of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, it had three lanes of traffic on each side and was a nightmare at rush hour.

Right now it was gearing towards the end of said rush hour, and soon activity would die down as evening gave way into night.

But that was not to be.

An explosion occurred under the stone archway in the center of the bridge, stopping all traffic in its tracks. The peace of the night was shattered as cars were knocked away by a menacing being. It had caused the explosion of a fire truck as it suddenly appeared in the middle of the bridge without prior warning.

The people who saw it immediately got out of their vehicles and fled for their lives, the keys still in the ignition. From both sides of this creature, which was humanoid but tall and encased in white armor not unlike that of an old European knight, began to destroy the now abandoned cars and toss them around like toys. Yet it didn't linger in one area for very long before it kept going down the road towards Starlight City itself.

Police and other emergency vehicles waited at the nearest exit, both to tend to civilians and to keep as much order as possible. Yet from what they could see and what they had been told of what was heading towards them, they knew they were dead meat the moment the knight came to them...

Luckily they wouldn't have to worry about it.

Three distinct lights came towards the bridge from within Starlight City.

A red one by air. A yellow one by land. A blue one by sea.

All converging on the bridge, and they stopped just a short distance in front of the knight who stopped to analyze the new arrivals.

"Where do you think you're going, buster?" said a four foot tall bipedal rabbit in a black and red striped long sleeve shirt and blue jeans. With fluffy white fur and droopy ears, it appeared to be a comical creature were it not for the backpack on its back with weapons sticking out of it (a sword and even a rocket launcher were seen with a pair of boxing gloves dangling from his hip). The rabbit cracked the knuckles on its three fingered hands, ready for a fight.

"That was so 90s, Jade Rabbit." From the other side of the bridge, and using water to help escort her onto the bridge, what could only be described as a girl with pink and blue fish scales all over her body with it protecting her chest and hips in the form of a skimpy pink two piece bikini (which she preferred, otherwise she'd be feeling more exposed than she was comfortable with), the girl also had small fins on her wrists and ankles as well as fins along the sides of her face. she looked like an exotic mermaid to the rabbit, and though he couldn't show it, he was blushing.

"Can't help it. Those years were awesome. You should look into it Syrena," said the rabbit before clearing his throat.

"Let me give one of my own," said the third and final arrival, the one by air. He walked between the two and stepped in front of them, taking point as he should, since he was the leader of the trio known to the citizens of Starlight as Inferno. "Let's rock his world."

"See? Inferno has it down pat," Jade said with a chuckle. "He even looks like a Power Ranger."

True, Inferno was dressed not unlike one of those heroes from way back when. White arm guards and ankle high boots made of armor and a red-orange chest piece over black spandex. His helmet was orange and red and had a phoenix motif. It protected his head and the only way he could see was through an all black visor over his eyes. This outfit was not of his choosing but he decided to roll with it if it meant it helped him save people.

Inferno raised a gloved fist, "Alright, enough banter, we better take care of this guy before he destroys everything."

"Well, he missed his best chance to get us-he's just been standing there this whole time," said Jade, pointing to the knight who stood next to a burning car.

The fact that it stood there not caring the three heroes were confronting it, gave Syrena a shiver. "Creepy."

"We got this, guys," said Inferno. He didn't just wear the title of leader because he wanted it. It was given to him by the others because they knew they could count on him.

Kiooooh!

The three heroes heard the familiar call, and were soon joined by an animal at their feet. It was the size of a small dog but with shiny gold fur and a red gem on its forehead. Its pitch black little eyes made it all the cuter as Syrena noticed it. "Kyuubi!"

Jade put his hands on his hips, "Guess this is a bigger deal than we thought if the little guy showed up with us."

Kyuubi walked on its little legs to be in front of the trio and the moment it laid eyes on the knight far down the road it did something Inferno never heard it do before. It started to growl at the knight.

"Huh, strange..." Inferno took note of the little animal's behavior. Kyuubi was normally as complacent as a house cat and never seemed to show any signs of aggression. Yet here it was totally different.

Something was wrong here, and the knight was just the tip of the iceberg from the looks of it.

Down the road, the knight stood with its arms crossed over its chest. It had finished analyzing the three heroes ahead of it as well as that of their little dog too.

End result was it had found what it was looking for. Retrieving the target would take a little effort but it wasn't worried. It couldn't feel emotion or trepidation, so when it eventually went after the group, nothing they did could stop it.


	34. Kursed Knight

Outside the Dome City of Epsilon

"H-How could this be...?"

A female knight, battered and her sword broken, stood on shaky legs. A captain of a small contingent of knights from Epsilon, she hadn't expected to find any trouble on a routine patrol.

Yet once she led her half dozen knights into the forest, the first thing they came across was along traveler and thought nothing of it.

At first.

That had been a few minutes ago, and in the span of those few minutes everything changed. Now her knights lay in various levels of unconsciousness around her and she was the only one standing.

The traveler stood across the clearing from her, dark armor with gold trim that covered his entire body, his face concealed in his helmet that had three horns pointing backward. His face was so concealed that only his bright yellow eyes could be seen through the opening of the helmet. In his right hand was a long sword with a thin straight blade not unlike a katanna but with a Western style handle and guard. The blade had a blue aura around it, making it look mysterious.

The captain dropped her sword in defeat but she remained on her feet. If she was going to die she would rather die standing than on the ground.

"You're pretty strong, Miss Captain." He complimented her, and he had the right to be since he pretty much had her life at his mercy.

Taking a sharp exhale through gritted teeth the captain glared at the knight. She wasn't one to be mocked on the battlefield. "Just kill me and get it over with..."

The enemy knight took one step towards the captain to grant her request-

-and in a swift movement so fast she didn't see him move he appeared behind her, the aura on his sword had vanished. He had his back to her and his sword vanished into thin air.

She had expected a slash meant to kill her but she didn't feel a thing. She had held her breath in preparation for the blow that would end her life but when it didn't come her expression was one of shock. "You bastard-"

She spun around, raising her broken sword before she felt a tingle go up her spine. Though she couldn't see it there was a shining blue glyph on her upper back, left there by the slash from the knight's sword. The captain gasped, and in that precise moment her armor exploded, as did the rest of her clothes. The resulting shock made her scream, and overloaded her senses to the point where she passed out. Falling forward, the now defeated captain collapsed to the ground unconscious in the dirt.

The knight who had won turned back to the fallen woman. His voice sounded young as he looked down at the woman. "Come on. I could never kill a pretty woman, regardless if she asked for death. Where's the honor in that?"

The fight now over the knight known only as Gewain resumed his walk Epsilon when a voice started to scream inside his own head.

'MY POWER IS NOT TO BE USED LIKE THAT!'

The voice was old and very angry but Gewain didn't care, nor was he afraid of the ancient being that had decided to share his body with him. "Hey, whose the one in control? You're the one who decided to leave your prison to be with me, so you reap what you sow Kurse."

Gewain didn't know the being's true name and so he gave it one. Made sense he called it Kurse, as that was what he claimed to be, yet the moment the curse had tried to take over Gewain's body it found it couldn't. Now it was nothing more than an unwilling participant for the knight's misadventures.

My power is immeasurable! How a weakling like you managed to subvert me is—damn you! On a daily basis there was no end to the amount of complaining the extra-dimensional voice tried to get the knight to submit to its influence but he was simply ignored. That or Gewain simply laughed at the voice's noted frustration.

Still, Gewain could only think of what he was going to do next. Or should he travel to the nearby mountain with its famous hot-springs? Surely some beauties would be there?

Either choice sounded good and he didn't want to pass up either of them.

"So Kurse, where should we go first? Kurse?"

For the first time all day the second voice in the knight's head was silent. That was unusual, but at the same time welcoming. He decided to leave it at that and walk on, whistling to himself as he decided to take the road to the mountain.

As the knight went about his skirt chasing mindset, Kurse didn't want to tell his host that he sensed something nearby. Something of other worldly origins, and just for the sake of spite he had no intention of telling the knight.


End file.
